


Miss Clayton

by LostGeekMonkeyGirl



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, Christmas Fluff, Dani and Jamie Being Adorable Parents, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Reunion, Feelings, First Dates, First Times, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hometown Visits, Marriage Proposal, Smut, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Weddings, alternative universe, family life, holiday fluff, valentines day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:15:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 80,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27860610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostGeekMonkeyGirl/pseuds/LostGeekMonkeyGirl
Summary: Jamie meets her little brother Mikey's new teacher, Miss Clayton and instantly falls head over heals for her.Snapshots of Dani, Jamie and Mikey's life together.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie, damie - Relationship
Comments: 39
Kudos: 327





	1. The First Meeting

Jamie hated kids. She hated the way they had little consideration for anyone around them, the way they always seemed to talk just a bit too loudly until their high-pitched voice greats on you and how irritating everything they did was. 

However, when she got a phone call from social services four years ago asking if she was willing to become her youngest brother Mikey’s legal guardian, she couldn’t really say no. 

She had never met Mikey before. Jamie had left foster care as soon as she could and moved as far away as possible from the place she once called home. This was all before Mikey was born and she never stayed in contact with her parents so had no idea Mikey even existed until that phone call late one afternoon. Jamie hated her time in foster care, so she really didn’t want Mikey to go through the same experiences she did however, she was just 22 with no experience of ever looking after kids. She knew what the right decision was though and promised herself she would do everything in her power to make sure Mikey had the childhood she never did. 

So, one week later, she was sat in her flat with a 2-year-old stood in front of her, both of them staring at each other in disbelief. Although she despised children, Mikey was the only exception. He was cute, extremely funny and had lots of wit. He took after Jamie really. He copied everything she did, which annoyed Jamie beyond words. Anything she would do, he did straight after. He looked up to her in a way no one had ever done before and the unconditional love in his eyes every time he looked up at her made her heart swell. 

[4 years later…]

It was the start of the term after the Christmas holidays and all the parents were lined up outside of the school gates waiting to drop their children off. 

Just as the bell rang, Jamie and Mikey ran up the path towards the school gate. It has been a hectic morning. First, the alarm hadn’t gone off, then there was no cereal left and Mikey was going through a phase where he only ate one specific type of cereal and nothing else and to top it all off, the truck windscreen had iced up overnight, so it needed defrosting. However, with moments to spare, they made it to school on time. 

As they made their way up to the gate, Jamie noticed a young blonde woman stood at the gate who she had never seen before. She wore a large coat, a scarf and gloves and looked like she had more layers on underneath too. 

The woman in question then turned around to face the pair of out of breath, rosy checked individuals and smiled brightly. Her smile, God her smile was something else. It only grew wider as her eyes met Jamie’s. “Good morning guys” she said cheerfully, her eyes never leaving Jamie. 

Jamie smirked as she eyed up the blonde in front of her. There was a moment of silence before the teacher reluctantly dragged her eyes down towards the young boy stood at the side of Jamie. 

“Hi, I’m Miss Clayton” she said, “and I will be your teacher for the rest of the year, I hope that’s okay”. 

Jamie nodded, even though the question was directed at Mikey. It was more than okay that she would get to see this woman twice a day, five days a week for the rest of the school year. 

“Hi, nice to meet you Miss Clayton, my name is Mikey Taylor” Mikey held out his hand to shake his new teacher’s. 

She took it smiling widely. “Oh wow, such a gentleman. And you must be Mom?” she said letting go of Mikey’s hand and directing her gaze towards Jamie. 

Jamie confidently held out her hand for Miss Clayton to shake and said “Sister actually but love him as if he were me own” she said ruffling Mikey’s hair. 

He giggled and pushed Jamie’s hand away. Jamie was aware her other hand was still grasping Miss Clayton’s. She let it go gently so it didn’t become uncomfortable and reached for Mikey’s bag on her shoulder. “Here you go and don’t forget to eat ya fruit” she said handing Mikey the bag which he took and struggled to put on his shoulder. 

Mikey ran towards the classroom door when he saw his friends but not before turning round to wave goodbye to Jamie. 

Jamie watched as Mikey made it safely into the classroom and began to play with his friends. She then directed her eyes back to the teacher who was already looking at her. “Suppose you better go look after all those gremlins then” Jamie said. 

Miss Clayton had been staring absentmindedly at Jamie throughout her interaction with Mikey. “Oh yeah” she giggled, almost like she forgot she had somewhere to be. “Don’t wanna be late for my first day! Kinda nervous about it.” The young teacher laughed nervously, but never breaking eye contact with Jamie. 

“Sure you’ll be great, Mikey loves ya already so I'm pretty sure the others will too. Good luck, Miss Clayton” Jamie said winking at the blonde whose already rosy cheeks turned a darker shade of red. 

“Dani” she said, “call me Dani”. 

“Kinda like calling ya Miss Clayton though” Jamie winked again causing the blonde to giggle. 

“Have a nice day Miss Taylor” Dani said turning around to leave. 

“Jamie, call me Jamie”. 

The whole day Jamie couldn’t wait for pick up time. Dani had been on her mind the whole day. Her bright blue eyes, her infectious smile and her silky-smooth American accent. As she tended to the garden of the manor she worked at, her mind wondered about the new teacher’s story. Why would a beautiful American end up here in Bly? It was a boring place, nowt to do, everyone who lived here died here and the gossip was awful. But Dani had brought light to the dull town of Bly and to the dull life of Jamie too.

3 o’clock rolled round and as she stood at the back of the line of parents waiting to collect Mikey, as well as catch another glimpse of Dani, she noticed she wasn’t the only one. There were way more dads here to pick their kids up tonight. Half of them she had never even seen before. Obviously, word had gotten around about the new American in town. She chuckled to herself as her eyes scanned the line of dads who had probably poorly convinced their wives that they would do them a favour today and pick the kids up from school. 

The bell rang and one by one the kids were let out and walked off with their parents. Jamie was last in the queue; she usually was. Never wants to get involved with the parent drama and happily just observes from the side-lines. As she got to the door, there was no Mikey and no Miss Clayton either. Jamie peered her head through the door and looked around, there was no one there. 

“Jamie!” Mikey suddenly shouted and jumped out of nowhere scaring Jamie who jumped back and cursed under her breath. 

“What ya doing scaring me like that, you know I'm old and can't handle it”. 

Mikey giggled and explained he’d lost his jumper and was trying to find it. “You lost your jumper again? Christ Mikey, I need to superglue it to ya”. 

“Sounds like a good idea” came an all too familiar voice from around the corner. 

Jamie’s heart started to race. She looked up and was met with the same bright blue eyes as this morning. “Good afternoon Miss Clayton” Jamie said which earned a giggle from Dani. 

“Good afternoon Miss Taylor, do you want to come inside out of the cold while Mikey looks for his jumper?”. 

“Sure” Jamie said following Dani inside the classroom. 

“Where did you last have it?” Jamie asked as Mikey went trailing around the classroom looking for his missing jumper. 

“Dunno”. 

“God how many times have you lost it now? It's at least 10 if not more. Kinda sick of buying ya new ones”. 

Dani giggled “Here let me help”. 

All three of them began wondering around the classroom looking for Mikey’s jumper. 

Jamie glanced over at Dani who had taken off her thousands of layers of clothing from this morning and was just wearing a purple wool jumper and light blue jeans. Jamie bit her lip subconsciously as she watched the teacher bend over to look in a cabinet for Mikey’s jumper. “So… how was your first day then Miss Clayton?” Jamie asked, walking closer to the blonde. 

“It was good, thanks for asking. All the children seem really nice and all the staff I’ve met so far seem nice too”. 

“Good. Hope ya like it here enough to stick around for a while, Mikey could use a good teacher”. 

Dani giggled shyly and averted her eyes from Jamie’s, pretending to look for the missing jumper. “He’s a great kid, isn’t he? You and his parents must be very proud of him”. 

“He’s alright I suppose. Would be better if he didn’t lose his jumper all the time” Jamie said, increasing her voice to make sure Mikey could hear the last part of the sentence. “And it's just us. I'm his legal guardian. Adopted him when he was two. Mum went to prison and Dad couldn’t cope. Didn’t want him to go into foster care like I did so he came to live with me.” Jamie smiled at the blonde whose facial expression she couldn’t quite read. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know”. 

“It's okay, nothing to worry about Miss Clayton”. 

“You’ve done a great job y’know, raising him. He’s so polite, so well behaved, he’s such a joy to have in my classroom.” Dani smiled sweetly back at Jamie who smirked, 

“Well I mean can’t take all the credit, just did me best, think he was meant to turn out like this regardless of me being here or not”. 

“I highly doubt that. He’s so much like you, he definitely learnt it from you”. 

Just as Jamie was opening her mouth the reply to the blonde Mikey screamed from across the room “I've found it!”. He ran towards the pair holding his jumper up proudly. 

“Where was it?” Jamie asked high-fiving Mikey. “Under the draws over there” he said pointing. 

“Why did you put it under there?” Jamie asked laughing. 

“Dunno, suppose to keep it safe but I forgot about it”. Jamie just rolled her eyes. 

“Well, I’m glad you found it, so you don’t have to go home in the cold with no sweater on” Dani said to Mikey. 

“Right, well, since we’ve solved the case of the missing jumper, we best be getting off so Miss Clayton here can be getting on with the rest of her afternoon”. 

“Bye Miss Clayton” Mikey said before walking towards the door of the classroom. 

“Goodbye Miss Clayton, enjoy the rest of your day” Jamie said winking, causing the teacher to blush. 

“See you tomorrow, Miss Taylor?” Dani smiled softly, part of her not wanting the young brunette to leave but knowing she had to. 

“Will do, Poppins” Jamie saluted before following Mikey out of the classroom.


	2. First Date (Part 1)

The next two weeks went by in a similar fashion. Jamie would drop Mikey off in the morning and Dani would always be there to greet her with a smiled that consumed the majority of her face. Her eyes would light up as she saw Jamie and Mikey walking up the path to the gate. Every night Jamie would be the last in the queue to pick Mikey up and she would shamelessly flirt with Dani whilst Mikey gathered his belongings and made his way to the door. 

Jamie had never felt like this before. She was giddy, it felt like she had a stupid high school crush. Both Dani and Jamie’s days were filled with thoughts of the other. Jamie wanted to ask Dani out, but she’d been in situations like this before where she flirts with someone for a while and they back out at the last-minute leaving Jamie to think she misread the signals, so she was hesitant. However, surprisingly, Dani beat her to it. 

Dani called Jamie into her classroom one night to talk about Mikey. Jamie immediately jumped to the conclusion that Mikey had misbehaved and was in trouble, but it was quite the opposite. 

“Mikey, do you want to tell your sister the good news?” Dani asked looking down at Mikey who was looking up at her with admiration in his eyes. 

“Jamie, look, I won the spelling competition!” He said handing her his certificate which he pulled out of his bag with a huge grin on his face. 

“No way mate, that’s incredible! So proud of ya” she said picking Mikey up and spinning him around before placing him back on the ground. 

“See look, all your hard work paid off didn’t it?” Mikey nodded still grinning from ear to ear. 

“Can we have pizza for tea then?” Mikey asked cheekily. 

“I mean, well I dunno. Don’t know why ya deserve it?” 

Mikey just held his certificate under his chin and gave Jamie his best puppy dog eyes. “Well, since ya won this whole spelling competition thing I don’t see why not”. 

Mikey jumped up and down before running into Jamie to wrap his arms round her. He was only six, but he was creeping closer and closer to Jamie’s height and she wasn’t happy about it. 

Dani just stood at the side of Mikey observing Jamie’s interactions with him with a gentle smile on her face. She had grown quite fond of Mikey and especially fond of his sister. 

“Suppose we best get going to order that pizza then” Jamie said looking up at Dani who instantly met her gaze. 

Mikey ran to the door shouting “Bye Miss Clayton” as he went. 

Just as Jamie turned around to leave, Dani grabbed her hand and pulled her around. “Hey, erm, do you want to maybe get a drink sometime?” Dani said averting her gaze to look down at her hands. The sudden action had shocked both of them, Jamie hadn’t expected Dani to be so bold and Dani was shocked at herself for being so brave. 

“Miss Clayton” Jamie said smirking “I’d thought you’d never ask”. 

Dani giggled shyly and played with her fingers. “When are you free?” Dani asked. 

“For you Miss Clayton, any time” Jamie said winking which caused a flush of red to sweep across the blondes’ face. “Well, Mikey has Judo on Saturdays and is sleeping over at his friend’s house that night so would Saturday work for ya?”. 

“Yes” Dani said way too quickly, and Jamie smirked at the overly eager response. 

“Jamie! Pizza!” Mikey shouted from the classroom door. 

“Shit I forgot he was still there” Jamie laughed. “Give us a sec yeah” she shouted back at him and he huffed in response. 

“So, Saturday then?” Dani asked. 

“Yep, looking forward to it” she said reaching for Dani’s hand and bringing it up to her lips to kiss her knuckles. 

Dani blushed, “Me too”.

Saturday couldn’t have come soon enough. Both women had been looking forward to it since they arranged it. At 2pm, Jamie dropped Mikey off at Judo then drove to Dani’s house to pick her up. 

When she got there, Dani was waiting for her in the doorway. As soon as she pulled up in her truck, Dani’s face lit up. 

“Hello Miss Clayton” Jamie said smirking as Dani opened the door and pulled herself into the seat next to Jamie, “Fancy seeing you here”. 

Dani giggled and her eyes met Jamie’s. Dani subconsciously bit her bottom lip. Jamie noticed this instantly and cocked her eyebrow and licked her lips. “So, we’re going to the pub?”. 

Jamie nodded “We only have one pub in Bly, so our options are a little limited if we wanna get a drink but it's a nice place”. 

Dani smiled and said, “I’m looking forward to it”. 

Dani eyed Jamie up as she drove. She was no longer wearing her usual dirty overalls but a faded vintage t-shirt, a tiny brown jacket and jeans that hugged her legs in all the right places. Dani couldn’t help her mind wondering to places it shouldn’t have throughout the short car journey.

Once they arrived at the pub, Jamie walked to the bar to order their drinks and Dani found a cosy booth to sit in at the back of the pub. Jamie came back not long after with two pints and handed one to Dani. 

“Thanks” she said smiling. “Never had a pint before”. 

“What?!” Jamie said in disbelief, “You’ve never had a pint of beer before?”. 

Dani shook her head. 

“But you’ve had like alcohol before, right?” Jamie asked. 

“I mean yeah but not really. I don’t really drink that much”. 

“So, your sensible then? Good to know since ya look after me brother”. 

Dani giggled. 

“Is it good? Do ya like it?” Jamie asked, slightly nervous the blonde wouldn’t like it. 

“The beer? Oh yeah, it's nice. I didn’t think I would like it actually but I'm enjoying it” she said taking another sip. 

“So, Mikey goes to Judo then?” Dani asked. 

“Yeah, I used to go when I was a kid. One of the relatively decent foster parents I had sent me to get rid of me for a bit, but it really helped me. It gave me somewhere to get rid of all the anger y’know so I thought it might be of some use for Mikey. Maybe not be right now but as he gets older, he might want somewhere to do the same. Plus, he enjoys it, and it gives him something to focus on. He’s getting really good at it.” 

Dani smiled, “You used to do Judo?”. 

“Yeah, wasn’t as good as Mikey but it was fun. It helped that the instructor was hot. I was always the first one in and the last one out. Used to stand right in front of her every class”. 

Dani chuckled, “That’s cute. How old were you then?”. 

“About 12”. 

“So, you knew from then you… erm…”. 

“Liked women?” Jamie chuckled. 

“Yeah”. Dani blushed and looked down at her hands. 

“Erm… I mean I did but I didn’t if y’know what I mean. Didn’t really know what it meant at the time but as I got older it all made sense”. 

“Yeah…” Dani said reflectively staring at the half full pint of beer in front of her. 

“What about you Poppins, if you don’t mind me asking?”. 

Dani blushed, still staring at the glass in front of her. “Erm… I guess… I mean I guess I’ve always known I’ve just never been brave enough to admit it to myself. I erm… I had a erm… a fiancé back home”. 

Jamie’s eyebrows shot up, “A fiancé, wow”. 

“Yeah. We had been together since we were kids and I dunno I just sort of got stuck y’know in the cycle of what was next. We were friends, then we were boyfriend and girlfriend, then we were engaged. I mean I loved him I did I just… I couldn’t feel it all the way y’know. Like I knew how he felt about me, but I couldn’t match that. I wanted to, I did. I would have given anything to be able to just love him the way he loved me, but, I couldn’t. I had been telling myself for years to end it, to not lead him on but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. I was too scared. Then one day I just said to myself ‘Dani what are you doing? Your 25 and you’ve never really truly ever been happy. You’ve never truly been honest with yourself or anyone around you’ so, I just ended it and moved to England for a fresh start and well, here I am”. Dani’s eyes were flooded with tears and they overflowed and fell down her soft, rosy cheeks. “Oh god, I'm so sorry” she said wiping the tears away with the cuff of her sleeve. 

“Hey, don’t be sorry” Jamie said reaching her Dani’s hand that was on the table. She held it and squeezed tightly. “I know it's hard but your braver than you think you are. You’re here and that’s all that matters now. Give yourself a little credit”. 

Dani looked up and met Jamie’s eyes and smiled weakly. “Y’know I’ve never actually told anyone that before?”. Jamie smiled and kissed the back of Dani’s hand. 

“Well, thanks for telling me”. Jamie said sincerely. 

Dani shivered and rubbed her arms. 

“Hey, ya cold there Poppins?”. 

Dani nodded. 

“Do ya want a cup of tea or something to warm ya up a bit?” Jamie asked. 

“Pubs serve tea?” Dani chuckled. 

“No, but I do. I live just up there”, Jamie pointed to the small door in the corner of the pub. 

“Wait what? You live here?” Dani asked. 

“Yeah, me flats just upstairs”. Jamie smirked, “Come on, I’ll show ya round”.

Jamie took Dani by the hand and lead her through the door in the back of the pub and up the stairs to her flat. “Wait I didn’t realise you lived here Jamie” Dani said looking around the dark staircase. 

“Yeah, first place I found when I came to Bly. Don’t really have the money to buy a house anyways. It's all we need really. Just the right size for me and Mikey. To be honest I think both of us would be a little lost if we lived in a house”. 

Dani laughed as Jamie put her key in the lock and turned it. “Welcome” Jamie said pushing the door open and walking inside. 

The place smelt like Jamie and Dani breathed in as much air as she could. As Dani’s eyes scanned the room, she noticed the place was filled with plants. “Wow, you really like your plants huh” Dani said as she touched one by the door. 

“I'm a gardener, kinda my thing” Jamie said. 

“Wait you’re a gardener?” Dani asked. 

“Yeah, could you not guess by the truck, the overalls and the mud on my face all the time?”. 

Dani chuckled, “I mean it all makes sense now you mention it. Where do you work then?”. 

“At the manor? Even been?”. Jamie gestured for Dani to take her coat off and Jamie helped her then put it on the coat hook. 

“The manor? No, I haven’t. I haven’t really been anywhere since I moved here”. 

Jamie took a seat on the small couch and patted the space next to her. Dani took the invitation and sat down beside her. “You should come by sometime or I could take ya. It's pretty nice. Not to blow me own horn or owt but the gardens are pretty nice”. 

Dani chuckled and moved in a little closer to Jamie. “I’d like that, yeah”. Dani just smiled as she stared into Jamie’s eyes. Silence filled the room, but it wasn’t awkward, just comfortable, easy. 

After a few moments of the pair just looking at each other, Dani shocked Jamie and herself by saying something which she’d never thought she would have been brave enough to say. “Can I kiss you?” Dani asked. It was said shyly but with a certain amount of confidence. 

Jamie smirked and her tongue unconsciously wet her lips. “Miss Clayton, you-” but before she could say something cocky but something that would put the blonde at ease, Dani’s lips were already on hers. 

Jamie’s hands cupped Dani’s cheeks and pulled her closer to her. Dani’s hands grasped at the collar of Jamie’s jacket which she hadn’t taken off yet. Both women hummed into the kiss. 

Dani was the one to pull away for breath first and Jamie huffed at the loss of contact. “Sorry” Dani said shyly, “I just wanted to do it. I wanted to do it ever since we met really”. 

Jamie smirked and said, “Me too” and pulled the blonde back onto her lips. 

After a few moments of heated kissing, Jamie pulled away and said, “Oh just remembered, you were cold, do ya still want that cup of tea?”. 

Dani chuckled and said, “For some reason I’ve seemed to have warmed up”. Both women giggled and pulled each other back into the kiss.


	3. First Date (Part 2)

[Mature Content]

The pair carried on kissing for a few minutes, Dani mainly deepening the kiss. Jamie didn’t want to rush the blonde, allowing her to take the lead. 

After a few more minutes Dani moved onto the brunette’s lap. This shocked Jamie a little, but she went with the flow and slowly placed her hands on Dani’s hips, digging her fingers slightly into the soft flesh that she found there. 

Dani’s hands were gently cupping Jamie’s face and every now and again one would trail up into Jamie’s soft brown curls. Dani kept deepening their kisses and both of their tongues fought for dominance. 

Jamie pulled away after a few moments as she was getting a little hot with her jacket on. “Hey, do you mind if I take my jacket off, I'm kinda getting a bit hot?” Both women chuckled and Dani began blushing. 

“Sure” Dani replied, and Jamie began to remove her jacket and placed it over the back of the sofa. 

For the few seconds it took for Jamie to remove her jacket, Dani was alone with her thoughts and her nerves began to creep in. This was all new to Dani and it was a little overwhelming. She had spent her whole life lying to herself and feeling guilty about who she truly was, but then Jamie came into her life. From the moment she saw her running to the school gate her first morning at work, she knew her life had changed. She felt a shift. Jamie made her feel seen, wanted and safe but most importantly, she gave her confidence to be who she was. She hadn’t felt an ounce of shame since she met Jamie and she felt happy for the first time in her life. But all these feelings she had for Jamie made her nervous. She wanted to be good enough for Jamie but what if she wasn’t? What if Jamie didn’t like her or think that she was attractive after tonight? What is she opened herself up to Jamie and Jamie didn’t like what she was met with? 

Jamie could sense something was wrong with Dani. She had gone quiet and was just staring down at her hands. “Hey” Jamie said softly, ducking her head to catch Dani’s eyes. “If ya wanna stop or something that’s fine, just tell me okay? We will only do whatever you’re comfortable with okay?”. 

Dani smiled and nodded. 

Jamie could see how nervous the blonde was, but her eyes were full of desire too. She took hold of Dani’s hands and squeezed them. Dani smiled at this and reconnected her lips to Jamie’s. 

As soon as their lips met, Dani’s insatiable desire was back. She couldn’t seem to get enough of Jamie. All her life she had denied herself of this but here she was, sat on the lap of a ridiculously beautiful woman making out with her. Dani laced her fingers in the soft brown curls on Jamie’s head as she rocked slightly on top of the brunette. 

Jamie pulled away from Dani’s lips and began kissing her neck. She started off gently exploring the new area of skin until she found Dani’s sweet spot. When she did the blonde on top of her let out a series of soft moans and Jamie licked, nibbled and sucked on the area. 

“Jamie” Dani whispered softly and tugged gently on her curls. With the sound of Dani softly moaning her name, the heat between her legs increased. However, she ignored her own desire, tonight was about Dani, not her, she just wanted to make Dani feel good in whatever way she could. 

Jamie’s lips made their way down the rest of Dani’s neck to her chest and moved her jumper slightly in order to reach more skin. With this, Dani began pulling on the hem of her jumper to pull it off. 

Jamie pulled away and said, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to its fine, we can just keep doing this”. 

“No, I want to” Dani reassured her and proceeded to remove her jumper. 

Jamie smiled as her eyes scanned Dani’s torso which was now only covered by her bra. “You’re so beautiful” Jamie said placing her hands on Dani’s hips, massaging the area whilst her lips began to kiss more of her bare chest. 

Dani blushed at this comment and pulled Jamie’s head up so she could kiss her lips. Once again, the kisses turned hot and desperate and when they both pulled back for air Dani asked, “Can you take this off?” pulling at the hem of Jamie’s t-shirt. 

In a flash Jamie had her t-shirt off and on the floor beside her. Dani giggled at the brunette’s fast movements then proceeded to scan her eyes over her torso. Her fingers slowly reached out and hovered above pale, warm skin. “You can touch y’know” Jamie said chucking after a few moments of the blonde just staring at her. 

“You’re...” Dani began to say as her fingers ran across Jamie’s chest and stomach, “so beautiful”. 

Jamie smiled and kissed Dani’s lips. “Can you take this off too?” Dani said hesitantly, placing her finger under the middle of Jamie’s bra. Jamie smirked and slipped out of the garment in no time. 

As she sat back, Dani just stared. “Can I touch you?” she said gently placing her fingertips below Jamie’s left breast. 

“Be my guest” Jamie said. 

Dani proceeded to gently trace the outline of Jamie’s breast before cupping both of them in her hands and squeezing. Jamie let out a soft moan at this and Dani looked up to see Jamie’s eyes were closed. Dani felt a little pride that her simple action had brought Jamie some pleasure and began to repeat the action. Jamie reached up and tangled her fingers in Dani’s long blonde hair pulling her face down to meet hers. 

As they were kissing, Dani was still exploring Jamie’s chest, causing the brunette to softly moan into Dani’s mouth. “Can we go to the bedroom?” Dani asked as she pulled away from Jamie’s lips “My legs are kinda going numb”. 

Jamie chuckled and picked Dani up and walked them into the bedroom. Jamie gently laid Dani on the bed and climbed on top of her kissing her slowly. Jamie’s hands wondered slightly around the blonde’s torso, not wanting to overstep the mark or touch her where she wasn’t comfortable with her touching. 

Jamie’s fingers accidentally slide over the side of Dani’s bra and Jamie pulled quickly away. “You can touch me there y’know” Dani said, sensing Jamie pulling away. 

“Sure?” Jamie asked? 

Dani nodded. 

They continued exploring each other’s mouths and Jamie gently began sliding her fingers over Dani’s covered breasts. Dani moaned gently at the contact and before long she sat up and tried to undo her bra so she could feel Jamie on her skin. 

“You want help?” Jamie asked, seeing the blonde struggling with the clasp. 

Dani nodded and laughed nervously. 

In no time Jamie undid the clasp and Dani slowly removed her bra. Dani never made eye contact with Jamie and instead stared at a random spot in the room. Jamie noticed this after scanning her eyes over Dani’s naked torso. She placed her finger under her chin and brought their gazes together. “You’re so beautiful Dani” she said placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “Anyone every told ya that?”. 

Dani shook her head. 

“Come on Dani, someone must have told you that you’re beautiful before, look at ya, you’re stunning? But if not, I’m glad I get to be first in line”. 

Dani smiled shyly and Jamie kissed her again. 

Jamie laid Dani back down and began kissing her way down her body. “This okay?” she asks, looking up for a sign of approval to keep going. 

Dani nodded and slowly closed her eyes. Dani moaned as Jamie took one of her breasts in her mouth and massaged the other with her hand. “Oh Jamie” Dani said under her breath and her fingers wrapped round a chunk of hair. 

After a few minutes of this, Jamie kissed her way slowly down Dani’s stomach to the top of her jeans. Dani noticed the movement and it only increased her desire and dampness between her legs. Dani reached her hands down and began unbuttoning her pants. 

“Can I?” Jamie asked and Dani nodded. 

Jamie unzipped the zipper on Dani’s jeans and helped her shimmy out of them. Dani was so beautiful. Jamie just stared at her almost exposed body in front of her and smiled. Dani was gorgeous. 

Feeling her staring Dani sat up and said, “You too” motioning to Jamie’s pants. Jamie began unbuckling her belt when she felt hands on top of hers. 

“Can I do it please?” Dani asked, eyes looking up at Jamie’s, dark with desire. 

“Go for it, Poppins” she said removing her hands and watched as Dani slowly removed her belt and undid her jeans. 

She pulled them down, biting her lip at the same time. She kissed up Jamie’s stomach then stood up in front of her, kissing her lips with such an intense desire. Both women moaned and Jamie once again picked Dani up to lay her on the bed. Jamie placed herself with one leg between Dani’s thighs and the other at the side of her. 

As they were making out, Jamie’s knee accidentally brushed against Dani’s centre. Dani moaned, louder than she had done before and it took them both by surprise. Dani could feel herself getting wetter and wetter and wanted more than anything for Jamie to relieve the intense ache between her legs, but she was nervous. She had done well so far pushing the nerves away, but she was here, and she was going to have sex with Jamie, and she couldn’t hide the nerves any longer. 

Jamie sensed Dani tense and pulled back. “Hey you good? Need a minute?” She asked. 

“Erm... maybe I don’t know I just erm... got in my own head a little bit”. 

“It’s fine. Take as much time as you need it’s okay”, Jamie said stroking Dani’s cheek. 

“It’s just that I’ve never done... erm... this before... like with...”. 

“Another woman?” Jamie asked, squeezing Dani’s hand reassuringly. “It’s okay, I kinda figured you hadn’t, but it’s okay we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do”. Jamie gently kissed Dani’s cheek where she had been rubbing the skin. 

“I mean I haven’t done this... at all...” Dani said nervously, avoiding eye contact with Jamie. 

“Like ever? With anyone?” Jamie asked. 

“No. My fiancé he erm, he wanted to wait until we were married y’know so we never actually... y’know”. 

Jamie kissed Dani’s lips. “That’s okay, nothing to worry about. We can always wait if you’d like, for another time maybe?” Jamie suggested but Dani replied quickly, 

“No please I want you. I want us to do this. I’ve waited forever to do this with someone, please”. 

Jamie smiled delicately at the blonde in front of her. It broke her heart to know that Dani had hidden her true self for all these years, but she was so glad she had chosen Jamie to open up to. 

“Okay, just let me know if you want to stop or you don’t want me to do something, it’s okay.” 

Dani smiled. She felt so safe with Jamie. She had never felt this safe with anyone before and she hardly even knew Jamie. She had always felt like there was something wrong with her. All her friends would say how hard it must be for her to be celibate with Eddie and how she must fantasise about him all the time, but she never did. She never had a desire, at least not the one she has right now, to be intimate with Eddie. She always felt broken but now, in this moment, she knew she wasn’t broken, she just hadn’t allowed herself to truly accept herself. 

Her eyes fluttered closed as Jamie made her way down to her panties. This was true desire; this is what her friends were talking about. 

“Can-” but before Jamie could finish the sentence, Dani slid her hand under her panties pulling them down. 

Jamie chuckled and pulled them down the rest of the way. Jamie came back up to kiss Dani. “You okay?” Jamie asked and Dani gave a reassuring nod. “Can I touch you?” Jamie asked shyly. 

Dani nodded and connected her lips back with Jamie’s. Jamie’s hand slowly trailed down to where Dani needed it the most. Her hips were already rocking upwards, trying to find some friction. 

As soon as Jamie ran a finger through Dani’s slick folds, both women moaned. “Jesus Dani, your so wet, baby” Jamie said kissing the blonde. Dani didn’t respond, her mind was too focused on Jamie’s fingers. 

Dani kept rocking forwards to find more friction as Jamie’s fingers gently explored. It wasn’t long before Jamie was drawing small circles on Dani’s centre and Dani was moaning loudly into the brunette’s mouth. 

After a few minutes of this Jamie asked “Dani, is it okay if I go inside you?” 

Dani’s breath caught in her throat, but she nodded. She trusted Jamie. 

“If you don’t like it or it hurts, or you want me to stop just say” Jamie said kissing the blonde’s forehead. 

Dani nodded and Jamie ever so slowly slipped a finger into Dani. 

Dani moaned at the sensation. It felt good, strange but good. She had pleasured herself before but this, this felt different. Everything was more intense, and she didn’t feel one ounce of guilt. 

“That okay?” Jamie asked, scanning the blondes face for any kind of discomfort. 

“Yeah” Dani breathed out. “It feels so good”. 

Jamie smiled and went back to work. The kisses got more heated and messier as Dani couldn’t contain her moans. Jamie gently added another finger and Dani could no longer control herself. Her hips rocked down onto Jamie’s fingers, desperate for a release. Jamie’s thumb constantly rubbing small curled over Dani’s centre. 

“Jamie” Dani moaned loudly, her legs beginning to shake. 

“Jamie, I think I’m about to-” and before she could finish that sentence, Dani threw her head back, arched her back and reached her release. She moaned loudly and dug her nails into Jamie’s back as she rocked her hips a few more times before falling onto the bed limp. 

Jamie slowly kissed Dani’s chest, neck, cheek and then finally her lips. 

“Jamie I-” Dani tried to say but couldn’t. 

“Shh” Jamie chuckled, continuing to kiss Dani’s lips. 

The blonde was still trying to catch her breath and Jamie laid next to her drawing small circles on her bare stomach. “Jamie I’ve never… felt like that before” Dani said turning to face Jamie. 

Jamie looked up at her and smiled. She kissed her lips gently. “Glad I could be of some service”. 

Dani chuckled and laced her fingers with Jamie’s. 

After a few moments, Dani said “Can I do the same to you?”. 

Jamie’s eyes shot up to look at Dani. “You don’t have to, don’t feel any pressure that you have to I mean tonight’s just about you”. 

“But I want to, I really want to” Dani said, her eyes filling with the same dark desire Jamie saw in them earlier. 

“Okay” Jamie said, and Dani proceeded to climb on top of the brunette. 

“You’re going to have to show me”. 

Jamie nodded and Dani leant down to kiss her. 

The kisses quickly became hot and wet as their tongues fought for dominance once again. Dani slowly began copying Jamie’s actions from earlier. She began kissing down Jamie’s neck, stopping every now and again to suck and nibble. Her hands caressed Jamie’s breasts and her kisses moved down towards them. She looked up and Jamie’s eyes were closed. Dani smiled as she knew she must be doing something right. Dani’s kisses moved down past Jamie’s stomach and down to her panties. 

“Can I take them off?” Dani asked looking up at Jamie. Her eyes were dark and her mouth slightly open. 

Jamie just nodded, unable to form words due to the sight of Dani between her legs, her hands on her panties. 

Dani hooked her fingers under either side of the soft material and pulled them down. 

Dani was a little confused as what to do next. Jamie was laid there completely naked in front of her and she became a little overwhelmed. She wanted to make Jamie feel exactly the way she had made her feel a few minutes earlier but how? Jamie sensed her hesitation and sat up. 

“Here” Jamie said patting the space next to her on the bed. 

Dani smiled shyly and sat where Dani had asked her to. 

“I have an idea” Jamie said, sitting on top of Dani. 

Dani just nodded and let Jamie take control. 

“Can I show you?” Jamie asked taking hold of Dani’s right hand. 

“Please” Dani said. 

Jamie placed Dani’s hand on her centre and started to make small, tight circles on her centre. 

“Jamie, your so… is that because of…?” 

Jamie chuckled. “You? Yes”. 

Dani smiled as she felt a little pride rise in her chest. 

Jamie began letting soft moans out and held onto Dani’s back for support. Dani got the idea of what Jamie liked and continued the movements on her own. Jamie’s hands found their way into the long blonde hair of Dani and pulled lightly. 

Dani looked up at the woman on top of her in amazement. She couldn’t believe she was making Jamie feel good. After a few moments Dani asked, “Can I go inside?”. 

Jamie nodded. 

“Erm… how?” Dani chuckled. She so desperately wanted to please Jamie, but she didn’t want to hurt her either. 

Jamie took Dani’s hand and moved it to her entrance and slowly lowered herself onto Dani’s two fingers. Both women gasped at the feeling. 

Jamie slowly started to rock her hips to gain more friction. Dani kept her arm straight and proceeded to move her fingers slowly in and out of Jamie. As Jamie picked up the pace, Dani matched it. She continued kissing Jamie’s breasts and chest in front of her as the woman rode her fingers. 

“Dani” Jamie moaned as she griped the headboard for extra support. “God you feel so good”. 

Dani beamed with pride at Jamie’s words. 

Jamie’s hand moved back to her centre and drew tight circles. 

Within a minute Jamie was moaning Dani’s name loudly as she reached her peak. 

Jamie slowly rocked her hips to draw out her high then collapsed onto Dani. “Jesus” she said wrapping her arms around the blonde and burying her face into her neck. 

Dani slowly removed her fingers from Jamie. A thought crossed her mind which she didn’t know if she should carry out or not, but she desperately wanted to. 

Jamie came round to kiss her and after a few sloppy kisses she pulled away. “Can I?” She said motioning her fingers towards her mouth. 

“Jesus Dani” Jamie laughed, shocked by Dani’s action. 

“I just want to know what you taste like”. 

Jamie let out a soft moan as Dani took the fingers that had just been inside her into her mouth. 

“Fuck” Jamie whispered as Dani smiled. 

“Good?” Jamie asked and Dani bit her lip and nodded. 

They both laid down on the bed side by side and Jamie kissed Dani’s temple. “Thanks” Dani said softly. 

“My pleasure” Jamie said and kissed the back of Dani’s hand. 

“Thanks for making me feel safe too” Dani said shyly. 

Jamie kissed Dani’s rosy cheek and replied “Of course”. 

They both laid in silence, absorbing what had just happened. 

After around half an hour and the women just kissing each other gently and enjoying each other’s company, Dani’s stomach growled. “You hungry?” Jamie asked. 

“Yeah, a little”. 

“Wanna order pizza?” and so they did. 

They spent the rest of the evening eating pizza, drinking wine and enjoying each other. For the first time in her whole 26 years of life, Dani was truly happy. She was content. And most importantly, she felt exactly who she was meant to be.


	4. The Morning After The Night Before

Dani woke up to the sound of buzzing. She slowly opened her eyes, and the room was still dark. Her arm was wrapped gently around Jamie who was laid in front of her. Dani couldn’t figure out what the noise was so gently woke Jamie up. 

“Jamie” she whispered, “somethings buzzing”. 

Jamie stirred then quickly shot up. 

“Shit my phone” she said jumping out of bed to try and find it. Once she found it, she answered it with a flustered “Hello”. 

Dani couldn’t hear all the conversation, but she heard Jamie say, “I’ll be there in a few minutes”. 

Jamie came back into the bedroom and sat on the bed putting her pants on. “Dani” she whispered, “Mikey had a nightmare so I'm picking him up, I’ll be back in a bit”. 

“Is he okay?” Dani asked, concerned for the little boy who she had grown quite fond of. 

“Yeah, just won't settle and wants me. I’ll be back soon” she said kissing Dani on the forehead after she finished putting all her clothes on. 

“I can go before you get back if you want, so Mikey doesn’t see me?”. 

Jamie shook her head “No you don’t have to do that, stay, please. Plus, you’re not walking home it's 2am. He won't see ya; he’ll be too tired, and he’ll just go straight to bed”. 

“You sure?” Dani asked. 

“Yeah, now keep my side of the bed warm will ya, I’ll be back soon”. 

With that Jamie kissed Dani on the lips and left the flat. 

Dani woke up about 30 minutes later to the sound of the front door opening. She heard Jamie carry Mikey to his bedroom. 

A few minutes later she came into the bedroom. “Hey Dani, you awake?”. Dani just hummed in response, too tired to speak. “Mikey wants me to sleep with him for a bit, but I’ll be back once he’s settled”. 

Dani chuckled and nodded. 

Dani woke up some time later when she felt Jamie get back into bed. She hummed as she felt Jamie’s arms wrap around her. Jamie kissed her arm and Dani asked, “How is he?”. 

“Kinda shaken up, god knows what he had a nightmare about, but it scared him shitless but he’s alright now”. 

“Poor little guy. You can stay with him you know; you didn’t have to come back”. 

“You’re kidding, right? I ain’t spending a full night in a tiny single bed with a 6-year-old. Done it a few times before and I never get to sleep right; he just kicks me in the guts the whole night. He’s a big boy he’ll be fine on his own”. 

Dani chuckled and nuzzled her face into Jamie’s chest. Jamie kissed the top of the blonde’s head and squeezed her tightly. “Good night, Poppins” she said but Dani was already fast asleep. 

6 am quickly rolled around and she felt Jamie shift beside her. They were still wrapped up in each other’s arms, with Dani’s head on Jamie’s chest. She kissed the skin beneath her lips and Jamie hummed at the sensation. 

“Mornin” Jamie said pulling the blonde closer into her. 

“Good morning” Dani said sleepily. 

Jamie’s heart began to quicken as she heard the blonde’s morning voice. “Why did your heart start beating faster?” Dani asked, noticing the quickening of the steady rhythm beneath her cheek. 

“Heard ya sexy mornin voice, didn’t I?” Jamie chuckled which caused Dani to blush. 

“Are you being serious or not, I can't tell?” Jamie laughed and kissed the top of Dani’s head. 

“Fully serious”. 

Dani just hummed in amusement and nuzzled the brunette’s chest. In this moment she was content. She was happy. There were no feelings of guilt or shame that washed over her the second she woke up, just comfort and contentment. 

“What do we do now?” Dani asked. Jamie looked at her a little confused and pulled back to look into her eyes. 

“What do ya mean?”. 

“Won't Mikey wake up soon?” Dani asked. “Nah not for another hour or so usually. Why?”. 

“Don’t you want me to leave before he wakes up?”. 

Jamie looked at the blonde with a little sadness in her eyes. She didn’t want her to leave but she also didn’t really want Mikey to wake up and see his teacher naked in his sister’s bed. “I don’t want to scar him for life by seeing his teacher naked” Dani said chuckling. 

“That’s a fair point ya make there, Miss Clayton” Jamie said running her hands along Dani’s exposed back. “I can make you a cup of tea or something before you leave? We can sit and cuddle for a bit if ya want before he gets up, we’ve got time?” 

Dani nodded and kissed Jamie’s lips softly. 

Jamie proceeded to get up and put the kettle on. 

A few minutes later Jamie came back with two cups of tea. “Here you go” she said handing Dani one cup. Dani put the cup on the floor, suddenly noticing Jamie only had one bedside table. 

Jamie noticed Dani’s confused expression and said “Might have to get you a table then” 

Dani laughed. “Why don’t you have two?”. 

“Never really needed two, always just been me. Kinda thought it was a little optimistic to have two”. Jamie sighed suddenly realising how long it's been since she has had company. 

“Haven’t you had a girlfriend or anything since you’ve been in Bly then?” Dani asked looking at the brunette who was now tucked up in the duvet beside her. 

“No not really. As you might have noticed it's not exactly the most diverse place on Earth” Jamie laughed. “Plus, the whole kid thing puts people off. Almost had something serious a few years back but she kinda bolted when I mentioned Mikey”. 

“Oh, I’m sorry” Dani said. 

“Don’t be it's fine, she wasn’t the one anyways. Mikey’s been my sole focus anyway since I got him and he’s my top priority so, if someone doesn’t accept him then it's not gunna work is it?”. 

“Yeah” Dani sighed. “He’s an amazing kid, I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t like him, he’s great”. 

“He is right. Might not want to admit it but he’s the only thing that keeps me going. Only reason I get up in the morning y’know, to see him smile”. Tears formed in Jamie’s eyes, but she quickly laughed and distracted herself from that thought. 

Dani noticed the tears though and the sincerity in Jamie’s voice. She picked up her hand and kissed it softly. “He’s extremely lucky to have you Jamie” Dani said, truly meaning every word. 

“I'm all he’s got really so he has no other choice” she said laughing, trying to hide the pain she felt. 

“If you ever need anything though just ask, I'm here for the both of you. I know you’ve done everything on your own until now and you’ve done an outstanding job but sometimes you just need a little break you know. You can allow yourself a little me-time”. 

Jamie smiled and tried to express all the emotions she felt at that current moment with her eyes. Dani seemed to understand. She gently kissed Jamie and rubbed her cheek with her thumb. They drank their tea together in peace, Jamie laying her head on Dani’s shoulder. 

6:30am rolled around and Dani got up and got dressed. Jamie came up behind Dani as she was putting her jumper on. “Don’t want ya to leave” she said snaking her hands around Dani’s waist. Dani chuckled and turned around in Jamie’s strong grip. 

“Me neither”. 

They both shared a kiss that quickly got heated and Jamie push Dani to the back on the bedroom door. Both women moaned into the kiss, their hands exploring each other’s bodies just like the previous night. 

Dani pulled away after a few minutes and laughed. “Okay Jamie, I’d better go before we go too far”. 

Jamie frowned and placed a small kiss on Dani’s lips, “You’re right. I’ll call you a taxi, I don’t want ya walking home on your own”. Jamie did as she said, and both the women waited by the front door until the taxi arrived. 

The taxi horn sounded, and Dani turned to Jamie, “Guess that’s my que” she said. 

“Yeah, guess so”. Both women didn’t want to leave the other’s side. 

Dani placed her hands on either side of Jamie’s face and drew her in for a sweet kiss. “Thanks for everything, I’ve had a really great time”. 

“Me too. How about we do it again some time?”. 

Dani chuckled. “I’d love to, Jamie”. 

And with that Dani left and Jamie was left alone. She turned around and walked back into her bedroom. The huge smile on her face wouldn’t go away all day. Mikey picked up on it asking her why she was so happy. Jamie just playfully punched him in the arm and told him to mind his own business. 

When Monday morning rolled around, Dani was waiting at the school gates as usual, waiting for Jamie to arrive. When she did, their smiles grew wide and the usual flirty banter was replaced by shy, nervous giggling. “Mornin Miss Clayton, have a nice weekend?” Jamie winked. 

Dani’s face turned bright red at Jamie’s remark, and she replied, “Good Morning Mikey, good morning Miss Taylor, I did have a lovely weekend thank you are asking”. 

The urge to kiss was overwhelming but it wasn’t the right place, so they’d have to settle on longingly staring at each other until the bell rang. “Have a nice day Dani” Jamie said once Mikey was out of sight. 

“You too, Jamie” Dani replied reaching for Jamie’s hand and squeezing gently. 

Both women went about their days with only the other on their minds and the next time that they could meet.


	5. Second Date

[Mature Content]

A week had pasted since their first date. Each morning Jamie dropped Mikey off at the school gates and Dani would always be there to greet them with an infectious smile spread across her face. Jamie used to hate school pick-ups and drop offs but not anymore. Not when she was met with those bright blue eyes every morning and afternoon. 

They had both been eager to see each other again but neither had voiced their desires to the other. Jamie didn’t want to push Dani. She didn’t want to make Dani feel any kind of pressure for them to meet again if she didn’t want them too. Jamie understood how immense last Saturday probably was for Dani and she would completely understand if Dani wanted some space or time to think, but the way Dani looked at her and flirted with her every time they saw each other suggested otherwise. 

Dani was the one who summoned the courage to ask Jamie when they could see each other again and when she did, Jamie noticed a glimmer of that deep, dark desire in her eyes which she saw on their first date. 

Since there was little to do in Bly, other than go to the pub, which went extremely well the first time, Jamie had offered to show Dani around the gardens of the manor where she worked. Dani had loved the idea. She had never been to the manor before and was looking forward to seeing where Jamie spent most of her days. They had agreed to meet on Saturday again as Mikey was at his weekly Judo practice and was going to his friend’s house for tea afterwards. 

The day had dragged. Jamie woke up at her usual time of 6am and got ready for the day but there was still 8 hours between her and meeting Dani again. She had butterflies in her stomach just thinking about seeing Dani that day, the kind of butterflies that are mostly excitement but with an ounce of nerves mixed into them. 

She had done numerous chores and errands to keep herself busy until finally 2pm arrived. Mikey had picked up on her anxious energy and asked her what she was waiting for and Jamie came up with a poor excuse but luckily Mikey bought it as he was too preoccupied with his homework. 

Recently Mikey had been doing a lot more homework than he had done in the past. He had always enjoyed school but was never one to go the extra mile. When Jamie had asked him about it, he said he wanted to impress Miss Clayton and Jamie rolled her eyes and chuckled as that made two of them. 

Finally, it was almost 2pm and Jamie and Mikey got into the truck to drive to Judo. Jamie hardly stopped the truck to allow Mikey to get out before she set off again, eager to pick Dani up. 

Once again Dani was waiting outside her front door when Jamie pulled up in her truck. Dani beamed instantly, seeing the all too familiar truck pull up in front of her. 

Before Jamie could even say hi, Dani’s lips were on hers. 

“Jesus Dani, at least let me say hello first” Jamie chuckled once they had parted. 

Dani chuckled nervously, her cheeks going flush, “Sorry I’ve just been waiting to do that all week”. 

Jamie laughed and reconnected their lips, “Me too”. 

Jamie set off driving to the manor and Dani held her hand all the way there. “Wow” Dani said in amazement as they drove up the road that led to the manor, “It’s so beautiful, I can’t believe you get to work here”. Dani’s forehead was practically touching the glass as she gazed out the window to look at the manor. 

Jamie had kind of become accustomed to the sight of the manor, after all, she had been working there for over 3 years now but seeing it through Dani’s eyes had given the manor a renewed sense of beauty for her. 

Jamie parked her truck in her usual spot and they both got out. “Wow, it’s so beautiful. Sorry I keep saying that don’t I, but it really is”. Jamie laughed and took Dani by the hand and began to lead her around the gardens. 

They would never get far, only a few steps, before their lips were reattached. The gardens were practically empty so they could be as affectionate as they wanted without unwanted stares from others. “You’ve done and amazing job Jamie” Dani said, turning to Jamie as they were halfway around the gardens. 

“Thanks, I try” Jamie chuckled, brushing off the complement. 

“You don’t take compliments very well do you?” Dani laughed, teasing Jamie a little and kissing her cheek softly. 

“Nope” Jamie said looking at the ground. 

“Well, you should because this garden is beautiful Jamie, it’s incredible. I don’t know how you’ve done it”. 

Jamie looked at Dani shyly, “Thanks” she said, deciding to take the complement inside of saying a sarcastic comment like she usually would. It had been extremely hard work for Jamie to take care of the huge gardens by herself, especially in the summer when the manor received the most visitors, but she loved it. She adored it. She couldn’t think of another job she would love more than the one she had, and she was happy Dani had noticed and appreciated her hard work. 

As they got further around the gardens, Jamie handed Dani some clippers. “Here” she said as she gave them to Dani who looked a little confused. “We’re going to make a bouquet” she said. 

“I was going to bring you flowers but I didn’t know what kinds you like so, I thought you could pick your own, so it gives me a good idea what to get ya next time”. 

Dani just stared at the brunette in front of her, bundled up in a jacket that was way too big for her. Jamie noticed the staring and quickly said “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want too. It was a stupid idea”. 

Dani didn’t reply, instead she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and pulled their lips together. “Jamie...” she said after she pulled away, looking at her with soft puppy dog eyes, “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me”. 

Jamie just cocked her head to the side and gave Dani a cute half smile. “Highly doubt that Poppins, I basically just asked you to make your own bunch of flowers so I could give em to ya”. 

Dani just laughed at the brunette and reconnected their lips. 

Dani proceeded to wonder around the rest of the garden picking the flowers that she liked. Jamie taught her how to cut the flowers properly and what each flower was called. 

Dani made some mental notes about what flowers were Jamie’s favourite as they walked around, just in case she needed that information at a later date.   
Once Dani had collected enough flowers for a bouquet, they went to Jamie’s greenhouse to arrange them. As Dani was arranging the flowers she picked, Jamie wrapped her arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck sweetly, watching her sort the flowers into a nice arrangement. 

“I love this” Dani said as she leant back into Jamie’s embrace. “This is so fun, can we do this again sometime?”. 

Jamie laughed and kissed Dani’s shoulder. “Sure, you can come by anytime you’d like and pick your own flowers, I don’t mind, just not too often though, gotta given ‘em a chance to grow first”. 

Dani laughed and turned herself around, so she was facing Jamie. They kissed each other gently, both humming into the kiss. “I’ve missed you.” Dani said after she pulled away. “I know it sounds dumb and it’s probably a little early to be saying stuff like that, but I did”. 

Jamie smiled softly at the blonde and replied, “It’s not stupid, I missed ya too Poppins. Also missed ya lips, can’t really do this at the school gate, can we?”. 

Dani chuckled and leant her forehead on Jamie’s shoulder. “No, no we can’t”. 

“Which is a shame really, I’d love to devour ya every morning Miss Clayton”. Jamie whispered in Dani’s ear with a smirk on her lips. 

“Jamie!” Dani said in fake shock and playfully hit Jamie on the arm. 

After a few moments of comfortable silence between the pair as Dani finished arranging her bouquet, Dani shyly asked, “Wanna come back to mine for a drink after we finish up here?”. 

Jamie smirked as she saw Dani’s darkened eyes. “Sure” she said and winked at the blonde in front of her who was holding her finished bouquet. “Looks beautiful Dani” Jamie said as she was handed the bunch of flowers to admire, “Anyone would think you’ve been doing this all ya life”. Dani chuckled and Jamie placed a sweet kiss on her lips and handed the flowers back to Dani. 

After finishing up at the manor, they drove back to Dani’s place. The drive was accompanied by small talk between the two women who were eager to learn as much about the other as they could. 

However, as much as Jamie wanted to concentrate on the conversation, all she could focus on was Dani’s hand on her thigh. Dani had taken her chance to move her hand there when Jamie needed to let go of Dani’s hand to reach for something in the truck and it hadn’t moved since. As soon as Dani’s hand was on Jamie’s thigh, Dani kept it still, silently hoping it was okay to be there but gradually, as Jamie didn’t move it away and seemed comfortable with it, she began rubbing her thumb over the skin underneath. Jamie bit her lip as Dani’s hand began to slowly rub her thigh. She silently chuckled to herself as she marvelled in Dani’s bravery. 

The short drive was over when Jamie pulled up outside Dani’s apartment. Both of the women didn’t want to move. Dani didn’t want to take her hand away from Jamie’s thigh, and Jamie didn’t want Dani’s hand to move either. 

Eventually, Dani reluctantly moved her hand to open the door of the truck and Jamie followed suit. “So, erm, this is my apartment” Dani said as she opened the slim door that led to a staircase, that presumably led to Dani’s apartment, “Welcome”. 

As soon as Jamie stepped into the staircase, the air smelt like Dani’s perfume. She took a moment to breathe in the air surrounding her. 

Jamie’s moment was cut short by Dani pushing her against the wall behind the door. The sudden action took Jamie by surprise and her head hit the wall behind her. “Shit” Dani said as she reached for Jamie’s head “I’m so sorry, I thought that-”.

Jamie laughed and cut Dani off by pressing their lips together. “No harm done Poppins” she said pulling Dani back into her, not ready to stop the contact between them. 

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? I’m so sorry” Dani asked, her concerned eyes scanning over Jamie to find any damage she may have caused. 

“I’m fine Dani, just a little sore, kinda took me by surprise there”. 

“I know I’m sorry I was just trying to, I don’t know... have a moment maybe”. Jamie chuckled. 

“Well, you definitely created a moment there Poppins”. 

“God I’m so sorry, I have an ice pack upstairs, let’s go and get that before a bump appears”. 

Before Dani could leave to go up to her apartment, Jamie pulled her into her and connected their lips. Jamie deepened the kiss and Dani moaned softly into her mouth. This was the moment Dani had aimed to create but hadn’t successfully pulled off. Dani’s leg accidentally pressed against Jamie’s centre as she shifted her body to try and bring her body closer to Jamie’s. Dani’s innocent action caused the slight ache between Jamie’s legs to increase and she moaned softly into Dani’s mouth. 

Dani pulled away after a few moments and took hold of Jamie’s hands. Dani unconsciously bit her lip as she looked down at Jamie’s already red, swollen lips. “Do you wanna come up?” Dani asked turning to lead Jamie up to her apartment. 

Jamie licked her lips and smirked, “Sure, should probably put that ice pack on me head”. 

“Oh, right… the ice pack” Dani said, walking up the stairs pulling Jamie behind her. 

As Jamie walked into Dani’s apartment, it looked very similar to what she had imagined Dani’s apartment would look like. It was warm, inviting and cozy but with a huge lack of plants. Jamie would soon have to change that. 

Dani left Jamie stood by the front door gazing around her apartment as she went into the kitchen to retrieve the ice pack. 

Jamie followed her a few minutes later into the kitchen and Dani said, “Sit down”, pointing to the small table in the kitchen. Jamie did as she was instructed, and Dani pulled up a chair next to her and asked, “Where does it hurt?”. 

Jamie pointed to the part of her head which she had banged. Dani gently touched the area and felt a small bump forming. Jamie winced slightly at the contact. 

“Here, hopefully this should help” Dani said gently placing an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel on the bump. “I’m so sorry Jamie I didn’t mean to hurt you”. Dani said, delicately gazing into Jamie’s eyes. 

“Dani it’s fine, it wasn’t ya fault, just a simple accident”. 

Dani placed her hand on Jamie’s cheek and stroked the skin beneath her thumb. Dani was still holding the ice pack on Jamie’s head when Jamie pulled her in closer for a kiss. Jamie deepened the kiss, and her senses were too consumed with Dani, she forgot about the throbbing on the back of her head. 

Dani moved to sit on Jamie’s lap and as her hands wondered and explored Jamie’s body, she let go of the ice pack and it dropped to the floor. Jamie’s cold hands snaked their way under the hem of Dani’s purple sweater and wrapped around Dani’s hips, pulling her body closer. 

Needing to feel more of Jamie on her skin, Dani pulled away and quickly took her sweater off. Jamie did the same with her jacket and t-shirt. Dani bit her lips as she watched Jamie’s bare skin slowly being revealed. It wasn’t long before their lips were connected again, and their tongues were exploring each other’s mouths. “Do you wanna go to the bedroom?” Dani asked after a few minutes of making out. 

Jamie hummed and said, “Lead the way Poppins”. Dani got off Jamie’s lap and took her by the hand, leading her to her bedroom. 

“Oh wait” Jamie said pulling Dani back, “Should probably put these in some water” she said motioning to the bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table, “Don’t want your beautiful creation to wilt now do we?”. 

Dani laughed at Jamie and proceeded to pull a vase out of a cupboard near her and handed it to Jamie. Jamie filled the vase with water and placed the flowers into it. “Right” she said turning back to face Dani, “Where were we?”. Dani laughed and tugged Jamie closer to her and kissed her hard. 

The women stumbled down the corridor and into Dani’s bedroom. Jamie closed the door and pushed Dani into the back of it. Dani chuckled and said, “See, that’s what I was trying to do before”. 

Jamie laughed kissing Dani’s neck and chest. “You definitely pushed me against the wall Dani I’ll give ya that”. 

Dani smiled and said “Yeah… sorry about that”. Jamie continued kissing up and down Dani’s neck before slowly making her way down to Dani’s skirt. She put her fingers in the waistband and looked up to Dani for her consent to remove it. Dani nodded and watched with dark eyes as Jamie slid her skirt off and began pulling on her tights. These proved quite the challenge for Jamie. Dani laughed as she watched the usually very smooth Jamie struggle with the garment. 

“Fuck” Jamie whispered, “How the hell do these come off?”. 

Dani laughed at her and quickly shimmied out of her tights with ease. 

“Fuck, how did you do that?” Jamie said in amazement, “Might need to practice getting them off”. 

Dani just chuckled, “You can practice any time you want”. Jamie would definitely take her up on that offer in the future. 

Once Dani was standing there with only her underwear on, Jamie started to remove the remaining items of clothing that were on her body. Dani stopped her and said, “Let me do it” and Jamie removed her hands from the top of her pants and rested them on Dani’s shoulders as she slowly started to take Jamie’s pants off. Dani placed gentle, small kisses on Jamie’s legs. Jamie hummed as she gently closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of Dani’s kisses on her bare legs. 

Dani stood up and led Jamie to her bed and pushed her down to lay on it. Jamie happily complied. She shimmied up so her head was resting on a pillow behind her. Dani’s bed was so soft, softer than her own bed. It felt like she was almost laying on a cloud. 

Dani climbed on top of her and slowly kissed her lips. Jamie’s hands wondered around Dani’s back and rested on her hips. Jamie massaged this area in time with their kisses. 

Jamie tried to flip them both over, but Dani protested. “No” she whispered into Jamie’s ear, “I wanna make you feel good first”. Jamie smirked. “Please, I’ve been waiting all week to touch you again”. 

Jamie bit her lip hard. “Fuck” she breathed out. 

Dani took Jamie’s hands in hers and placed them above Jamie’s head and held them in place. Jamie’s eyebrow cocked and a smirk appeared on her lips. She tried to lift her hands up, but Dani held them tightly in place. “Jesus Dani” Jamie said as her arousal quickly began to increase. 

“You don’t like it? Sorry, I can stop?” Dani said pulling away and looking at Jamie with concerned eyes. 

“No, carry on Dani, please, your so fuckin’ hot like this”. 

Dani smirked as pride swelled in her chest. She wasn’t sure whether Jamie would like it or not but apparently, she did, a lot. Dani held Jamie by her wrists with one hand as the other travelled down to where Jamie wanted her the most. 

Dani skilfully slid Jamie’s panties down her legs and Jamie helped her by kicking them away. Dani’s fingers slowly ran through Jamie’s wet folds. “Jamie… your so… wet” Dani said looking up at Jamie who had opened her eyes to look at Dani. 

“It's just what ya do to me Poppins”. Dani’s fingers slowly began to circle Jamie’s centre. She was slightly hesitant at first but gradually found her groove. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about having sex with Jamie again. She had tried to make some mental notes last time about what Jamie enjoyed but with the adrenaline and haze that was cast over her by Jamie’s touch, she had gotten lost in the moment. She had spent the past week exploring herself to find what she liked in hopes she could try them with Jamie and maybe Jamie would enjoy them too. 

Her hesitant fingers slowly made their way to Jamie’s entrance and hovered, waiting her a sign from Jamie that it was okay for her to proceed. Jamie looked up at the blonde above her and nodded, knowing Dani wanted her permission. 

As Dani slid a finger into Jamie, her back arched and she softly moaned in Dani’s ear. Dani breathed out a sigh, knowing she was doing something right. She didn’t want to keep asking Jamie how to do things again, even though she knew Jamie didn’t mind. Jamie’s hips started to match Dani’s pace and Dani let go of Jamie’s wrists to position herself better. 

“More” Jamie breathed out as her hands were released and she tangled one in the Dani’s hair and the other held onto Dani’s back. Dani delicately added another finger at Jamie’s request and picked up her pace. Jamie’s hips kept up with the rhythm and her moans were getting louder and more frequent. Dani tried to use her thumb to circle Jamie’s centre, but it was proving a little difficult, as she had not yet mastered all the actions. That didn’t matter though as Jamie’s hand came to the rescue and she began to rub circles on her own centre. Dani’s own arousal increased at the sight of this. 

She looked back to Jamie’s face as she watched her start to reach her peak. Dani’s fingers were becoming tired, but she kept going, knowing any time soon, Jamie would come undone. Jamie’s free hand clutched and scratched Dani’s back as she lifted up off the bed, moaning Dani’s name. “Fuck” she whispered as she fell back onto the bed. 

Dani’s fingers were still slowly moving in and out as Jamie rode out her orgasm. Dani removed them when Jamie’s hand reached for her hand. Jamie pulled Dani’s fingers out of her and brought them up to Dani’s lips. Dani happily took the fingers into her mouth and moaned, tasting Jamie on them once again. Jamie did the same once Dani removed the fingers from her mouth. The act was simple but so intimate. 

Both women laid there for a few moments, catching their breath. Dani’s head rested on Jamie’s chest and she placed delicate kisses on the skin she could reach. “You’re getting good at that” Jamie said, running her fingers through the blonde’s slightly messy hair. 

Dani blushed as she looked up at Jamie, “Still would like so more practice though”.

After a few minutes, Jamie’s hands slowly started to wonder across Dani’s naked body. Jamie rolled the pair over and got on top of Dani, straddling her. As she removed her bra which had been forgotten in the haste of their desires, Jamie glanced over at the clock she found on Dani’s bedside table. She had plenty of time before she needed to pick Mikey up. 

When Jamie began to remove her bra, Dani did the same and laid back down. “God… you’re so beautiful Dani” Jamie said as she looked down at Dani who was staring up at her with soft eyes. Her golden blonde hair was messy and spread out on the pillow that was supporting her head. Dani reached her hands up and held Jamie’s tight. They both had a silent moment, observing the other’s beauty before Jamie lent down and kissed Dani. The kiss quickly became heated and before Dani knew it, Jamie’s kisses were all over her. 

Jamie travelled down Dani’s body slowly and placed hot open-mouthed kisses anywhere she could. Jamie paid particular attention to Dani’s breasts, leaving a few marks that Dani would find later tonight or tomorrow morning. 

Jamie’s mouth eventually reached where Dani wanted it the most. Jamie slowly removed Dani’s lace panties with her teeth. This elicited a loud moan and a breathy “Fuck” from Dani who Jamie had never heard swear before now. This sound quickly brought back the dampness between Jamie’s thighs. 

She kissed Dani’s stomach, just above her pelvic bone. Dani opened her eyes and looked at Jamie who was hesitantly hovered above the area Dani needed her to touch. “Can I… taste you?” Jamie asked, unsure if Dani wanted her to pleasure her like that. 

“Please” Dani said, wrapping her fingers into Jamie’s soft, messy curls and nodding. 

“If you don’t like it just tell me okay?” Jamie said, reassuring Dani that they didn’t have to do anything she wasn’t comfortable with. 

Dani just nodded and laid her head back on the pillow. “Jamie” she said as Jamie’s tongue licked through her wet folds. 

Jamie continued slowly as she feels the grip in her hair tighten. 

“Jamie… that feels… so good… oh God” Dani breathed out as she pushed Jamie’s face closer into her. 

Jamie picked up the pace after hearing Dani’s moans of approval. Dani didn’t know what to do. She was so overcome with all the new sensations she was feeling. Her back arched off the bed, her legs wrapped around Jamie’s head and her hands gripped tightly in Jamie’s hair. All she wanted was more. 

Jamie could feel Dani writhing and picked up the pace again, replacing her tongue with her fingers. Dani knew she was close. Her legs began to shake as Jamie’s fingers moved in and out of her at a steady pace and her tongue was sucking and licking her centre. 

“Fuck Jamie… I’m so close”. 

Jamie reached up and interlocked her fingers with Dani’s free hand. 

“Jamie I-” but her sentence was cut short as a wave of pleasure hit her and Dani arched her back and squeezed Jamie’s hand which was holding hers. 

Jamie kept going, making Dani ride her orgasm out as long as she could. Dani’s legs began to shake again, and Jamie pulled away knowing she was too sensitive. 

“Jamie” Dani whispered and reached for the brunette who made her way up the bed and laid beside her. “God, I’ve never… felt… that good… ever” Dani said in between deep breaths. 

Jamie just kissed her cheek softly and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in close.

The pair laid there in a comfortable silence, basking in the pleasure and contentment they were feeling. The silence was eventually broken after a while by Jamie saying “Dani, I’ll have to leave in a bit to pick Mikey up”. 

Dani just nodded then asked, “How long do we have?”. 

“Half an hour”. 

Dani smiled and hummed, “Good. Can we just lay here and cuddle?”. 

Jamie wrapped her arms around Dani tighter and buried her face into the soft blonde hair in front of her, “Of course we can Poppins”. 

And that’s what they did. Their two naked bodies intertwined as they enjoyed the presence of each other before the spell that had been cast over them was inevitably broken when Jamie had to leave. 

“See you soon?” Dani asked as she stood up to walk a now fully clothed Jamie to the front door. 

“Very soon” Jamie said kissing her and running her hands over Dani’s still naked body. She bit her lip as she pulled away and took one last look at Dani before leaving her apartment and going to pick Mikey up.


	6. Day Off

Three months had passed by and Jamie and Dani were happy. They hadn’t wanted to rush their relationship and had just allowed it to naturally blossom over time. 

They had spent more or less every Saturday together since their first date and Dani had even started to stay over at Jamie’s once or twice during the week too. They had decided not to tell Mikey about their relationship as Dani was his teacher and they felt it best that they tell him once he moves out of her class. 

Even though the pair saw each other a lot more often now, they both still looked forward to the school pick-ups and drop-offs every day. They didn’t text each other good morning, like they did goodnight, as they preferred to do it in person at the school gates. Jamie had gotten used to the routine but one morning it changed.

Jamie and Mikey made their way up the path that led towards the school gate where Dani would usually be waiting for them to arrive, but as they got closer, Dani was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was an older brunette lady stood in her place welcoming the children into school. Jamie furrowed her brow in confusion but thought that maybe Dani was busy inside dealing with something. 

When she arrived at the gate, the older lady greeted Mikey and he said, “Good morning Mrs Smith”, so he clearly knew who the woman was. 

“Mornin” Jamie said to the woman as she handed Mikey his backpack, “Where’s Miss Clayton this morning?”. 

The older teacher moved slightly to let Mikey pass her as he walked towards the classroom, waving goodbye to Jamie. He had become accustomed to just leaving her outside to talk to Dani every morning. 

“Oh, she’s off ill today, was there something you needed her for?”. 

Jamie was a little confused, Dani hadn’t text her to let her know that she was ill and that she wouldn’t be at school today. 

“Oh no, just wondering y’know” Jamie replied as she waved goodbye to Mikey who was now stood in the doorway of the classroom waving at her again. 

Jamie left the school gates and immediately rang Dani, but she didn’t pick up. It wasn’t like Dani to not answer her phone but maybe she was sleeping but Jamie was still concerned. 

Jamie drove to work and as she did, she came up with a plan. Once she arrived, she went straight to the greenhouse and collected what she needed and set off around the garden to pick some flowers. 

She had kept her promise to Dani and had allowed her to come by and make her own bouquets again, so she had a very good idea now about what flowers Dani liked. 

Once she had made her bouquet, she found Hannah, the housekeeper of the manor, to tell her she was going home to take the day off as she was feeling under the weather. Jamie hardly ever took sick days, so it did seem a little unusual to the housekeeper, but she allowed it. 

On her way to Dani’s apartment, she stopped by the local shop to buy some chicken soup. She always gave it to Mikey if he wasn’t feeling well and for some magical reason it seemed to almost cure him so hopefully it would do the same for Dani. 

Once she arrived, she rang the bell that was beside Dani’s front door. After a minute she rang it again as there was no answer. 

A minute later the door opened and slowly revealed a sight that broke Jamie’s heart. Dani was stood leaning against the door for support with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her PJs still on and a tissue in her hand. Her eyes were watery and dull, and her nose was bright red. 

“Oh baby” Jamie said as she walked into the stairwell and wrapped her arms around Dani. 

“What are you doing here?” Dani said softly into Jamie’s shoulder. Her body was heavy against Jamie’s and her arms weakly wrapped around Jamie’s waist. 

“Came to make sure you’re alright, but I can kinda see that you’re not”. 

Jamie shut the door and locked it behind her. Dani pulled away from her and said, “I don’t want you to get sick Jamie”. 

Jamie pulled Dani back into her and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t care Dani, why didn’t ya tell me you were ill? I could have been here earlier”. 

“I didn’t want you to worry or get ill” Dani replied weakly. 

“Oh baby” Jamie said kissing the top of Dani’s head again. 

“I don’t feel well, Jamie” Dani said, and she stayed wrapped up in Jamie’s embrace. 

“I know baby, let’s get you back to bed yeah?”. 

Dani just hummed into Jamie’s chest. 

Jamie gently let go of Dani and held onto her arms to steady her and make sure she didn’t fall due to the lack of Jamie propping her up. Jamie placed the items she brought Dani on the bottom step for her to get later, then she picked Dani up bridal style and carried her upstairs. 

Dani smiled gently at the act as she didn’t really have the energy to giggle. She loved when Jamie picked her up. Jamie always did it and it was usually to take her to the bedroom and this time it was to do the same but in a slightly different context. Dani nuzzled her face into Jamie’s chest as she carried her into the apartment. 

When they arrived at Dani’s bedroom, Jamie gently laid Dani down on the bed where the covers were pulled back and tucked her in. “Two seconds” Jamie said as she went back down the stairs to retrieve the items she left there. 

Jamie walked back into the room a few seconds later with the bouquet of flowers in her hand and a tote bag filled with tins of chicken soup. She handed the flowers to Dani whose eyes became a little brighter and she smiled weakly. “For you. I picked them specially this mornin’ for ya. Hopefully they will cheer you up a little”. 

“Thanks Jamie, they are beautiful” Dani said, sniffing the flowers which she couldn’t smell very well since her nose was blocked, but she still tried. 

“Shall I put them in water for ya?” Jamie asked and Dani just nodded. 

Jamie’s heart broke just looking at the women she cared for so much being in pain and discomfort. Jamie came back a few minutes later and placed the vase with the flowers in on Dani’s bedside table. “They look beautiful, thanks baby” Dani said and reached out weak arms to Jamie. 

“Come cuddle?” Dani asked, giving Jamie puppy dog eyes. Jamie’s heart swelled. 

“Of course, just give me a minute to take off me shoes and jacket, don’t wanna get your bedsheets full of mud”. 

Dani let out a small chuckle as she watched the brunette in front of her pull off the items of clothing. Jamie also decided to take off her infamous overalls as they were also covered in mud. She made a mental note to herself that she should probably wash them tonight. 

Eventually Jamie stood there in just her t-shirt, underwear and socks. Dani smiled at Jamie and said, “I only asked if you wanted to cuddle”. 

Jamie smirked then said, “Come on, budge up, let me get in” and Dani complied, shifting a little to make room or Jamie under the covers. 

Jamie snuggled in and her cold legs touched Dani’s which made them both shiver. “Sorry I'm so cold” Jamie said as she got comfy and wrapped her arms around Dani who snuggled herself into the brunette. 

Dani’s warm hand make its way under Jamie’s t-shirt and onto cold skin. Their legs intertwined and Dani laid her head on Jamie’s chest. Jamie kissed the top of Dani’s head and pulled her close. Dani hummed and Jamie felt Dani relax into her. 

The pair laid in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the comfort the other brought them. “Thanks for coming” Dani whispered, just loud enough for Jamie to hear. 

“Of course, but I wish you’d told me”. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to worry about me”. 

Jamie placed a kiss on Dani’s soft blonde hair, “I know but Dani I wanna worry about ya. If anything is wrong please let me know, I just wanna know your safe and happy and if you’re not that’s okay, I just wanna know what I can do to help ya”. 

Dani smiled at this and Jamie felt the corners of Dani’s mouth move on her chest. 

“Can I kiss you?” Dani whispered, “I don’t wanna get you ill”. 

Jamie laughed and said, “Of course you can” and lent down to meet Dani’s lips. 

The kiss was sweet, tender and said a million things words couldn’t. Jamie pulled away and placed a kiss on Dani’s forehead. “How about you get some sleep Poppins? It might do ya the world of good”. 

Dani nodded and laid her head back on Jamie’s chest. “Are you staying?” she asked. 

“Of course I am, I ain’t leaving ya like this”. Jamie pulled Dani closer into her and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right here when you wake up baby”. 

Dani sighed contently and let her heavy eyelids shut and sleep take over her whilst she was safe if the comfort of Jamie’s arms. 

Jamie also took the opportunity to have a little nap. Jamie never usually got tired during the day even though she usually goes to sleep quite late and always wakes up at 6am, but there was something about having Dani wrapped up in her arms and listening to the soft, rhythmic snores she let out that made Jamie’s eyelids become heavy too as she let herself succumb to sleep.

Jamie was right where she said she would be when Dani opened her eyes. They were both in the exact same position as when Dani fell asleep; her head was resting on Jamie’s chest, Jamie’s arms were holding her tight and their legs were intertwined. 

As soon as Dani woke up, she let out a small cough which drew Jamie’s attention to her. “Good mornin” Jamie said smiling down at Dani whose face had buried itself into her chest, “Didn’t get a chance to say that to ya today did I? How are you feeling?”. 

Dani groaned, “My head, my throat… everything… it hurts Jamie”. Jamie pulled Dani closer into her and nuzzled her face into her hair. 

“Shh baby it's okay” Jamie said rubbing Dani’s back, hoping it would bring her some comfort. “How about I go and get ya some tablets to take yeah? Do you want anything to eat? You should probably eat, maybe that will make you feel a little better? Give ya some energy?”. 

Dani just nodded. 

Jamie gently shifted herself out from under Dani and made sure she was comfy again before she left to get her some painkillers. 

Jamie arrived back a few minutes later holding a glass of water and some tablets. “Here baby can you sit up for me?” Jamie said, helping Dani to sit up. She handed her the water and tablets, and Dani took them. 

“Thanks” Dani smiled softly at Jamie, her eyes were still watery and dull, but they also had a hint of love in them too as she was looking at Jamie. 

It was way too early for them to be saying the L word to each other, but they were both slowly feeling it grow between them. 

Jamie kissed Dani on the cheek and took the glass out of her hands and placed it on the bedside table so Dani could reach it if she needed it. “I've put some soup on for you so hopefully that will make ya feel a little better”. 

Dani smiled and replied softly “I don’t have any soup Jamie”. 

Jamie laughed and said, “Oh I bought you some this morning when Miss Smith told me you were ill”. 

“Really?” Dani asked, her smile growing wider at Jamie’s comment. 

“Yeah. Got ya chicken, hope ya like it. It's Mikey’s favourite when he’s ill so thought you might like it too”. 

Dani reached out to hold Jamie’s hand, “Chicken’s my favourite” she said. 

“Good, now I better go and get it otherwise I might set ya kitchen on fire and we don’t want that do we?”. 

Dani chuckled as Jamie left to check on the soup. She never thought she would ever be this happy. Since Jamie arrived a little flustered at the school gate on her first day, the smile on her face had never left. She always felt warm and fluffy on the inside and the shame she once felt about herself had vanished, only to be replaced by acceptance and love. Jamie had changed her life significantly and they had only known each other for a few months. The feelings her fiancé felt for her, which she could never reciprocate, she had started to feel for Jamie, and she wanted nothing more than to call Jamie her girlfriend, but she was nervous. Did Jamie want to be her girlfriend? Was it too soon? Should she wait until she had been properly introduced to Mikey? She didn’t know and the thinking was making her head hurt more. 

Jamie walked back into the room a few minutes later with a bowl of soup and a spoon in her hand. “Here baby have some of this”. Jamie sat down on the edge of the bed next to Dani. She dipped the spoon into the soup and blew it to try and cool the soup down. “Here” Jamie said gently placing the soup in Dani’s mouth once she was satisfied the soup was cool enough not to burn Dani. 

Dani hummed “That’s good soup Jamie”. 

“Right? I got the posh soup too, hoping it would be good. Do you want some more?”. Dani nodded and Jamie repeated the process. 

Dani thought it was funny Jamie was feeding her but honestly, she didn’t have the strength to protest and tell her she’d do it herself, so she just let Jamie care for her. It turned into more of an intimate moment than Jamie intended it to be. Dani rested her hand on Jamie’s bare knee and caressed the skin with her thumb and Jamie lovingly fed Dani the remainder of the soup. The moment was full of care and love and Dani had never felt this taken care of in all her life. 

Once the soup had been finished, Jamie placed the empty bowl on the floor and climbed back into bed with Dani. Jamie sat up, back resting on the headboard and Dani curled into her side. They held hands as they laid in a comfortable silence. 

Dani broke the silence when she looked up at Jamie and asked something she had been thinking about all week, “Will you be my girlfriend?”. Jamie stopped. For a second she thought she forgot to breathe. “I just, I really like you Jamie and I care for you so much and I think you care for me too and I’ve just never felt this happy before or this connected to someone and this safe and… yeah… do you wanna be my girlfriend?”. 

Tears formed in Jamie’s eyes as her heart swelled. “Dani, baby, of course I’ll be your girlfriend” she chuckled as she lent down and connected their lips. 

Dani pulled away and coughed a little before saying “I didn’t know if it was too early, but I feel so safe with you Jamie and I just really wanted to make us official”. 

Jamie laughed and placed her hand on Dani’s rosy cheek, “It’s never too early baby, and I'm glad you feel so safe, I do too”. 

They spent the rest of the day snuggled up in bed together watching films. Dani would nap every so often and wake to find Jamie still laid in the same position next to her. 

Jamie made Dani numerous cups of tea throughout the day and Dani didn’t really know why, but she assumed it was just how British people expressed their love. 

3pm slowly rolled around and Jamie had to leave to pick Mikey up. “I don’t want you to leave” Dani said as she held onto Jamie’s t-shirt weakly trying to pull her back down into bed. “I know baby, I don’t wanna leave either but I gotta get Mikey.” 

After a short pause she said, “We can come back? We could all have tea together if ya want? We don’t have to but…”. 

Dani let go of Dani t-shirt and said, “That would be nice”. 

Jamie smiled. She was unsure about letting Mikey know about their relationship since Dani was his teacher and she didn’t want it to be awkward for him or anything, but she didn’t want to leave Dani on her own when she was so ill. “Okay, let’s do that then. Anything in particular you want for ya tea then?” Jamie asked as she started putting the items of clothing, she’d taken off back on. 

“What’s Mikey’s favourite dinner? Maybe we could all have that since he’ll be joining us”. 

Jamie smiled, “Sure ya want dino nuggets and chips?”. Dani chuckled weakly then coughed a few times, 

“Sure, I don’t mind”. 

“Okay” Jamie laughed kissing Dani on the forehead and leaving the apartment to pick Mikey up.

“Right so kiddo, we’re doing something special tonight alright?” Jamie said as she sat in the truck with Mikey next to her in the front seat. 

Mikey nodded excitedly, waiting for Jamie to elaborate. 

“Right so ya know Miss Clayton wasn’t at school today?”. 

“Yeah, she’s ill, I made her a card, I’ll give it to her when she comes back” Mikey said, showing the card to Jamie. 

Jamie’s heart swelled as she admired the card. “Well, you won't have to wait until she comes back to school, how about we help her feel a little better and make her tea tonight?”. 

“Really?!” Mikey said in excitement. 

“Yeah, she said we can have your favourite tea if ya want?”. 

Mikey’s smiled grew wide as he tried to jump up and down in his seat but was restricted by his seatbelt. 

The pair drove to the nearest shop and Mikey picked out the ingredients they would need for tea and Jamie picked out some cold medicine and soft tissues just in case Dani needed some more. Once they had everything they needed, they headed back to Dani’s apartment. 

Dani knew the pair had arrived back when she heard small, loud footsteps running up the stairs. She heard Jamie shush Mikey and tell him to be quite as Dani wasn’t well and probably didn’t want his footsteps making her headache worse. They opened to door to see Dani sat on the couch. 

“You’re up” Jamie said as she looked at Dani sat upright on the couch with a cup of tea in her hands. 

“Miss Clayton look!” Mikey shouted running to the woman on the couch. “Oh sorry, I need to be quiet. Miss Clayton look” Mikey said again, this time in a hushed voice. He handed the card he made to her, “It’s for you” he said. 

Dani took it from him and admired it. “Oh, wow Mikey, it's amazing. Thank you so much. When did you make this?”. 

“Lunch time. I asked Miss Smith if I could make you one and she said I could”. 

Jamie was stood by the door observing the adorable interaction that was going on, her heart swelling as she watched how much Mikey cared about Dani. 

“Mikey, it's lovely, thank you so much. I'm going to put it on my fridge”. With that Dani slowly got up from the couch and made her way to the fridge in the kitchen. 

“Jamie look! My card! It made it on the fridge!” Mikey said, tugging on Jamie’s jacket to pull her into the kitchen. 

Jamie laughed as she followed Mikey to the fridge. She squeezed Dani’s hand once she stepped back from putting the card on the fridge and smiled brightly at her. 

“How are you feeling now?” Jamie asked. “Little better, the card definitely helped” Dani said, the latter part of the sentence she said a little louder for Mikey to hear. 

Jamie and Mikey made dinner later that night and by made, I mean Mikey put dino nuggets on a baking tray with some chips and Jamie put them in the oven and heated some beans from a can. 

Dani actually enjoyed the dinner Jamie and Mikey had cooked for her. She thought it was a strange combination, but it seemed very British, but she was a little concerned that this is what the both of them ate regularly. She had promised to cook them her favourite meal once she was better since they had made her Mikey’s favourite meal. 

Mikey was extremely excited. He was glad to have someone else cooking her him other than Jamie. He loved her but she wasn’t exactly the best cook in the world. 

Once dinner had been eaten, Mikey and Jamie washed up and tided the kitchen for Dani and Mikey had made her a cup of tea which Dani was very impressed by. She had been trying to improve her tea making skills since arriving in England but hadn’t exactly mastered it yet. 

They all then settled in the living room to watch a film together. Mikey was sat on the floor in front of the TV where he always sat when he was at home and Jamie and Dani sat on opposite ends of the couch with their feet touching under a blanket and they shared small, loving looks every so often. 

Halfway through the film, Mikey fell asleep and Jamie had thrown a blanket over him. She then sat next to Dani who snuggled into her side. They finished the film like that, kissing every so often and holding hands. 

Once the film finished, they sat in silence for a while, not wanting to end the night. “Guess you should get him to bed” Dani said after a while, motioning to Mikey laid on the floor. 

“Yeah…” Jamie said. “You okay to be on your own?” she asked after a moment of silence. 

“Yeah, I'm a big girl you know Jamie”. 

Jamie just chuckled and kissed Dani’s temple. “I’ll come by tomorrow?” Jamie asked, unsure if Dani wanted to spend another day with her. 

Dani nodded and pulled Jamie closer to her and kissed her lips softly and took her bottom lip between her teeth and pulled it as they parted. Jamie sighed and Dani smirked as she saw a glimmer of darkness appear in Jamie’s eyes. 

“I might have a little more energy tomorrow” Dani said and softly kissed Jamie’s lips again. 

“Fuck” Jamie whispered as she tried to deepen the kiss, but Dani pulled away and smirked. 

“See you tomorrow then?” Dani asked as she stood up. 

“Yeah” Jamie said as she did the same. She picked Mikey up gently and Dani opened the door for them. 

“Goodnight Jamie” Dani said as she placed her hand gently on the small of Jamie’s back. 

“Goodnight Miss Clayton” Jamie said winking at the blonde as she carried Mikey back to her truck.


	7. Camping Trip

Summer break had finally begun which meant Dani and Jamie could spend way more time together than they could during term time. Dani and Jamie had sat Mikey down about a week after the holidays had started to tell him about their relationship. Mikey seemed to take it very well. Jamie had been a little apprehensive about how he would take it since it had just been him and her all his life and he had never had to share her with anyone else before, but Mikey was beyond thrilled. 

The first question he asked was if that meant Dani was going to start living with them. Both women had discussed this a few weeks earlier and had thought it best to wait a few more months since they hadn’t been together long and moving in was a huge commitment. Both of them had no doubts they wanted to live together but they didn’t want to rush their relationship and they wanted to see how Mikey would react before Dani showed up at his door with suitcases. 

The second question he asked was whether that meant Dani was now his mum. This question took both Dani and Jamie by surprise and they hadn’t discussed an answer beforehand. Jamie had looked at Dani for a little reassurance as she stumbled through the answer by saying that it was a little early to be calling Dani mum yet, but she would always be there for him the same way Jamie was, just without the official title. 

Dani loved the idea of joining Jamie and Mikey’s little family. She had never really felt like a part of her own family and had longed to be a part of one that loved her and accepted her and made her feel safe and that’s exactly how she felt when she was with Jamie and Mikey. She had always wanted children ever since she was young, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have children with Jamie someday but that was way off in the future. 

Mikey seemed pleased with the response and the third question he asked was if Dani was coming on their annual camping trip. Jamie and Mikey had gone on a camping trip every year since Mikey came into her life. Jamie didn’t have enough money to go abroad so they went camping every year instead. Dani turned to Jamie a little confused at the question which is another one they hadn’t planned a response to beforehand. 

“I suppose if she wants to come, don’t know if it's her speed though” Jamie had said looking at Dani then back at Mikey. 

“What camping trip?” Dani asked. 

“We go camping in the woods every year, please come, it's gunna be sooooooo much fun”. 

Dani chuckled at Mikey’s excitement and looked at Jamie. Jamie just smiled and said “Wanna join us then?”. 

“Sure, sounds like fun”. Jamie took hold of Dani’s hand and squeezed it and gave her a wide toothy grin.

It was 5am when Dani heard the all too familiar honking of Jamie’s truck’s horn outside her apartment. She struggled down the staircase with two large bags that were probably overpacked. 

“Jesus how much have your brought?” Jamie said as she watched Dani struggle out of her front door with the bags. 

“I dunno I’ve never been camping before, so I didn’t know what to bring so I just kinda… brought everything”. 

“Well, I see that Poppins” Jamie said was she lifted the bags up and threw them into the truck. 

Once Dani got in the front seat of the truck Jamie said “Here”, handing her a flask that contained the tea she had made earlier this morning, “Thought ya might get a bit cold on the journey there”. 

“Thanks” Dani said with a large grin and placed a kiss on Jamie’s lips. 

Jamie hummed into the kiss and said “Ya taste good Miss Clayton, what ya had for breakfast?”. 

Dani giggled and responded, “Oh just a muffin, it's the only thing I could find”. 

“Well, if ya get hungry on the way, Mikey’s packed us all a lunch box. No idea what’s in them but should be something ya like”. 

Dani turned around to see Mikey in the back of the truck with his head pressed against the window, his mouth open, snoring away. “He’s so adorable” Dani said as she turned back to Jamie who had started the engine and begun the long drive to the campsite. 

“Y’know he’s so excited ya coming, not stopped talking about it all week”. 

Dani chuckled, “I’m excited I'm coming too”. 

“Ya say that now but once we’re there and Mikey’s got ya in the lake and covered in mud, ya might say otherwise”. 

Dani laughed, kinda unsure whether Jamie was joking or not, but she said, “I can't wait”. 

They drove the majority of the 5-hour journey to the campsite in relative silence. Both Dani and Mikey slept most of the way and Jamie would glance at the both of them every now and again to make sure they were okay. 

Dani would wake up every so often and shift positions and reach out for Jamie’s hand which she had let go of accidentally in her sleep. 

Once they arrived at the campsite all three of them couldn’t contain their excitement. Jamie and Mikey took charge of putting the tent up and Dani helped when she could, but the pair had it down to a tee. They had clearly done this all before. 

Jamie and Mikey made fun of Dani when she pulled her two huge bags out of the truck and they got to see the contents. Dani wasn’t kidding when she said she had packed everything. 

“Ya realise we are only here for a week, right?” Jamie had joked, picking up the 3 shampoo bottles Dani had brought. 

“Well, I didn’t know if I was going to run out or how many times I might need to wash my hair. I like to be prepared” Dani said blushing as she took the 3 bottles out of Jamie’s hands and buried them under a pile of clothes in her bag. 

After they got settled, Mikey insisted on giving Dani a tour of the campsite, holding her hand and dragging her behind him. Jamie just laughed as she watched Mikey pull Dani away and her little legs jogging a little to keep up with his pace.

After Dani’s tour of the campsite had ended, they arrived back to the tent and enjoyed the packed lunch Mikey had made without any supervision from Jamie. They each opened their boxes to find a random combination of food inside. Dani laughed loudly when she opened her box up. Mikey had saved all the good food for Dani as it was her first time joining them on their annual camping trip. He had put 3 bars of chocolate, a packet of his favourite crisps, a cheese string and a packet of Haribo’s inside her lunch box. 

“Wow Mikey!” Dani said as she pulled out the items one by one showing them to Jamie. 

“Ya really outdid yaself there kiddo, didn’t ya?”. 

“Think we should probably share these around don’t ya think? Maybe Jamie would like something else besides her apple and carrot”. 

Jamie just laughed and whispered in Dani’s ear “I’m guessing you’re his favourite now”. 

Dani smiled, “Or he wants to kill me, not sure which one it is just yet”. 

All three of them sat in a circle on the logs outside their tent and ate their lunch whilst discussing what they would be doing for the rest of the week. 

After much deliberation, Mikey had decided he wanted to go swimming first. He had pleaded with Dani for her to join him. It was then when Dani learnt Jamie didn’t swim. 

“Wait, you can't swim?” Dani asked looking slightly confused. 

“Nah, me and water don’t really get along y’know”. 

Dani just smiled and nodded, she guessed there was more of a reason behind why Jamie didn’t swim but she didn’t push her to explain. “Are you coming with us though?” Dani asked, wanting to include Jamie in the activity. 

“Yeah, I usually just sit on the side lines and watch, make sure this one doesn’t get into too much trouble” she said picking Mikey up and slinging him over her shoulder. Mikey screamed and giggled as Jamie spun them around a few times before placing him back onto the ground. He stumbled around for a second or so, trying to regain his balance. 

They then proceeded to change into their swim wear, Jamie helped Mikey first then Dani quickly changed in the tent after they had stepped outside to give her some space. 

They then all made their way down to the lake, Dani trailing behind the pair, gazing around at her surroundings. The campsite was beautiful, full of woodland areas and flowers and mountains in the distance. She understood why Jamie liked coming here, it was so full of life, but it was also very peaceful. 

“Come on!” she heard Mikey shout as he began running to the lake. 

“Wait, what?” Dani said as she watched Mikey jump into the water. “I thought we were going to swim in a pool, not a lake Jamie” Dani said suddenly feeling really cold just looking at the water. 

Jamie just laughed loudly, “You thought this campsite had a swimming pool? It's literally like the cheapest campsite in the country”. 

“But is it safe to swim in the lake? Are there no jellyfish or anything?”. Dani asked looking at Mikey who was jumping around in the shallow of the lake. 

“Dani baby you’re not in America anymore, we don’t really have dangerous animals in our waters” Jamie joked. 

Dani contemplated for a moment before slowly taking off her sweatpants which she had put on over her swimming costume for the journey to the pool, or rather the lake as she had just found out. She handed her pants to Jamie who quickly glanced down at her now bare legs and bit her lip slightly. 

“And ya top?” Jamie asked. 

“God no I'm keeping that on otherwise I’ll get pneumonia”. 

“What a shame, would have loved to watch ya in just your swimsuit” Jamie said, biting her lip again. 

“You only came to watch me in my costume, didn’t you?” Dani said playfully hitting Jamie’s arm. 

“Maybe” Jamie winked and watched as a blush spread over Dani’s cheeks. 

Dani slowly made her way into the water, jumping slightly as the cold water touched her bare feet and Mikey came and tugged on her hand, pulling her quickly into the water. 

Jamie just sat on the rocks near the edge of the lake, watching the pair play. She loved the way Dani interacted with Mikey. She had never expected that she would meet someone who cared about Mikey as much as Dani did. Jamie had just thought she would be alone forever. People were exhaustive, everyone except Mikey. Mikey was exhausting in other ways, but he was worth it. God he was worth it. The way his eyes were filled with pure admiration and love every time he looked up at Jamie and she thought no one else could ever look at her that way but then she met Dani whose eye were filled with the same look every time she saw Jamie too. 

If Jamie was being honest with herself, she had been lonely for a long time. Mikey was the only person in her life. She had some friends, but she had spent much time with them and had never opened up to them and even they were exhaustive most of the time. She never spent her time with anyone but Mikey. She loved to spend as much time with him as she could but there were times where she would love to just sit with someone who understood her and talk. Talk about real stuff like her past, her feelings, her fears, not children’s TV shows, Judo or school. With Dani Jamie could talk about all these things and it was easy. Dani wasn’t exhaustive, Dani was comforting, safe, she listened without judgement and most importantly she cared deeply for both her and Mikey. 

Jamie was torn away from her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice shout “Jamie!”. Jamie looked over at Mikey in the lake who was now doing a handstand under water and Dani was stood next to him, a concerned look spread across her face as she waited with arms stretched out in front of her, ready to help him if he got into difficulty. Jamie smiled widely as she watching the two most important people in her life have fun together. 

After a while, Dani came and joined her on the rock where she was sat. 

“Hey” Dani said as she kissed Jamie on the cheek. 

“Hey Poppins” Jamie said, returning the kiss but this time on Dani’s lips. “How’s the lake?” Jamie asked after a few minutes. 

“Warmer than I expected” Dani giggled, “I had a really good time. Mikey’s a little… erm…” Dani said trying the phrase her sentence in the right way. 

“Dangerous?” Jamie said, trying to give Dani the right word. 

“Yeah” Dani said with a chuckle, “He is a little isn’t he”. 

“Boys” Jamie said as she rolled her eyes and watched Mikey play with some other kids in the lake now. “I tell him all the time to be careful but every day he does something different to injure himself. Bet the lifeguard has a heart attack every time we come here”. 

Dani just laughed and laid her head on Jamie’s shoulder and Jamie reached for her hand to hold. 

“Thanks for coming” Jamie said, still keeping an eye on Mikey. 

“Thanks for inviting me” Dani said. 

“Well, it was Mikey’s idea wasn’t it. Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought until he mentioned it” Jamie said. 

“Well, I'm glad he mentioned it then, I’m having a lot of fun”. 

Jamie kissed Dani’s lips gently. “I was kind worried that if ya came it would put ya off us. Spending a full week with us could be a lot, seeing how Mikey is outside of the classroom and seeing me every day, I didn’t want ya to get sick of us y’know”. Jamie said honestly. 

“Is that why you didn’t mention it before?” Dani asked, squeezing Jamie’s hand tighter. 

“Maybe? I don’t know. I wanted ya to come, I suppose I was just a little scared. It's only every been me and Mikey and I didn’t know if he would want it to be more than just us and I didn’t know if ya even wanted to come so I suppose I just didn’t mention it at all”. Jamie smiled weakly and directed her gaze back to Mikey playing. 

“Oh, Jamie” Dani said, “You know you can talk about these things with me? I don’t mind. I don’t want you to keep everything inside. I would have totally understood if you didn’t want me to come or if Mikey didn’t want me to come. I know it's only ever been you guys and it must be hard to have me around, but I just want you to be open with me is all” Dani said stroking her thumb on the back of Jamie’s hand. 

“Yeah, I know… I'm just used to keeping it all in y’know. Feels a bit weird to open up to someone, not me forte really”. 

Dani kissed the back of Jamie’s hand which she was still holding onto. “Yeah, I know, and I’m not the best at discussing my feelings either but I’m always here for you Jamie, always”. 

A small tear escaped Jamie’s watery eyes and trickled down her cheek. Dani caught it and wiped it gently away and kissed where it had stopped. Jamie just wrapped her arms around Dani, not sure of what to say but hoping Dani would understand how much her words meant to her through their embrace. 

They sat on the rock a while longer, watching Mikey play with his new friends before he came to join them and the three of them watched the sun set together. Dani sat next to Jamie with her head on her shoulder and her arms wrapped around Jamie’s arm and Mikey was sat on the opposite side of Jamie with his head in her lap whilst she was stroking his hair gently. 

They then all wondered back to their tent to make dinner. Jamie lit the tiny BBQ she had brought with them and Dani prepared the sausages. They then spent the rest of the night eating hotdogs and playing games together. Dani had even showed Jamie and Mikey how to make s’mores. Neither Jamie nor Mikey had heard of them and Dani was shocked and slightly offended as they were a staple of every camping trip in America. Mikey thoroughly enjoyed them as he ate a few too many and had consequently had a little sugar rush which he quickly came down from after running a few laps around the tent and showing off some of his Judo moves. 

After he came down from his high, Jamie put him to bed, making sure to wipe the chocolate off his face and hands before she tucked him in. Dani sat outside of the tent, wrapped up in a blanket now as the temperature had dropped, not wanting to intrude of Jamie and Mikey’s bedtime routine. She listened as she heard Jamie reading Mikey a story. Jamie was so patient and kind with him. To look at Jamie you would have never expected her to be this loving and caring, her appearance made her seem a little closed off and slightly rude, but she was nothing like that once you got to know her. 

After around 15 minutes, Jamie appeared, poking her head out of the tent. “You okay out here?” Jamie whispered. 

Dani nodded, “Yeah, is Mikey asleep now?”. 

Jamie came and sat next to her and replied “Yeah, didn’t take long, poor kid was knackered”. Dani giggled, still not used to the way Jamie talked and the words she used. 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Jamie got up off her seat and disappeared into the tent, only to appear again a few seconds later. She laid a blanket down on the ground at the side of the tent and placed a double sleeping bag on top of the blanket. She motioned for Dani to join her and she did. They both got into the sleeping bag and Dani threw the blanket that was wrapped around her on top of the sleeping bag. 

She was a little confused as to what they were doing and said, “Are we sleeping out here tonight?”. 

Jamie chuckled, “Can do if ya want but we might get a little cold. Look up”. Dani did as Jamie said and looked up to see the dark sky now bright with stars. 

“Wow” Dani said, “It’s beautiful”. 

“It is isn’t it. Every year I just lay out here and stare up at the sky, don’t always get such a clear sky in Bly”. 

The pair laid there in a comfortable silence staring up at the stars above them. Dani reached down and found Jamie’s hand and held it tight. As Dani laid on the hard ground wrapped in layers of fabric holding onto Jamie’s soft warm hand staring up at the thousands of stars in the sky above them, she couldn’t help but feel a warm sensation in her chest that spread throughout her whole body. She knew this feeling. She had been felling it for some time now, every time she saw, spoke and even thought about Jamie, but in this moment, it was stronger, a lot stronger than it had ever been before. Dani shifted herself slightly, so she was on her side facing Jamie. 

“Jamie” Dani whispered which caused Jamie to copy Dani’s movements, so she was facing her too. “Jamie I,” Dani whispered, unsure of whether she should voice her feelings but she had told Jamie she wanted her to be open with her so she should be open with Jamie too. 

“Jamie, I think I love you” Dani said confidently this time with no sign of apprehension. “I know it might be a little early to say that but Jamie, we’re just two people on a floating rock full of billions of other people in the middle of space with god knows how many other planets out there and I just can't help thinking how lucky we are to have met each other. Life is short, and I feel like I should be honest about my feeling with you since I told you that you can be honest about your feelings with me. Jamie every time I think about you or see you or touch you, my whole body just goes into overdrive and this warm, tingly feeling takes over and I’ve never felt this way about anyone before and it’s a little scary I’m not going to lie but God, Jamie, it feels so good, so right. All I want to do is be around you and kiss you and hold you and make you happy and I think that’s love, right? I can't imagine my life without you and Mikey in it and honestly, I don’t want to. I understand how hard it probably is for you and Mikey to accept me into your life together, but I want nothing more than to be a part of your family in whatever capacity you want. And I know you might not feel the same way and that’s okay, I just had this overwhelming desire to tell you how I felt, and I hope that’s okay?”. 

Jamie just stared at her, trying to process everything she had said. There was silence for a few seconds but to Dani those few seconds felt like a lifetime. In those few seconds of silence, Dani had convinced herself Jamie didn’t feel the same way and was going to think she was too clingy and leave her but then Jamie placed her hands delicately on her cheeks and pulled her closer. Jamie looked straight into Dani’s eyes and Dani could see the tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. “I love you too” Jamie whispered before connecting their lips in a gentle, meaningful kiss that said the words Jamie couldn’t. 

When they pulled away, both women had tears streaming down their faces and both tried to wipe the others tears away and they both giggled as they did. “We would love you to be a part of our family Dani, I mean you already are. Mikey loves you so much, he adores you and never stops talking about ya. And Dani, I love you too, so much. I had kinda given up on the idea of every being with anyone. No one really wants a constantly dirty, closed-off, sarcastic lesbian gardener with a 6-year-old in tow”. Jamie laughed a little through her tears at the latter part of her sentence. 

“I do” Dani said stroking Jamie’s flush cheeks softly, “I do”. 

They both spent the rest of the night wrapped up in each other’s arms, gazing up at the stars above them before sneaking quietly into the tent and settling back down in their sleeping bag and getting ready to go to sleep. 

As their heavy eyelids were closing and sleep was taking over them Dani whispered quietly, “To say you had given up on the idea of ever finding someone, you were clearly a little optimistic since you have a double sleeping bag”. 

Jamie chuckled, “Gunna be honest with ya now Poppins, I bought it the other day especially for you. Gave me other sleeping bag to Mikey since he kinda outgrew his old kids one, his legs are getting a little too long now”. 

Dani giggled and kissed Jamie’s cheek, “You bought it especially for us? Jamie, you’re so adorable”. Dani said nuzzling her nose with Jamie’s. 

“Well, we couldn’t cuddle if we were in two separate bags, could we?”. 

Dani snuggled in closer to Jamie and gently lifted her head up and placed a kiss on Jamie’s lips. “I love you, Jamie” Dani whispered softly, and Jamie replied, 

“I love ya too Poppins”. 

With that Dani and Jamie slowly let sleep consume them, wrapped up in each other’s arms.

The next morning Jamie woke up to a heavy weight sat on top of her and an all too familiar voice trying to whisper her name. “Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, wake up”. Jamie groaned as she rolled over causing Mikey, who was sat on top of her, to fall off and roll on the floor. 

“Jamie!” Mikey said a little louder this time as he knelt in front of her so they were face to face and she could feel his breath on her skin. 

She laid still and kept her eyes closed, trying not to let Mikey know she was awake. After a few moments she shot up and grabbed him and started to tickle him. 

Dani woke up to the sound of Jamie and Mikey laughing loudly as Jamie had Mikey pinned to the ground tickling him. Dani sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them. 

“Dani!” Mikey shouted, “Help me!”. 

Dani laughed as she watched Jamie stop tickling Mikey for a second to turn to her and say good morning before resuming her assault on Mikey. 

After a few more seconds of screaming and laughing, Jamie eventually stopped and let Mikey go. 

“Good mornin Dani” Mikey said, trying to catch his breath. 

“Good morning Mikey, I see you got rudely awaken this morning” Dani said giggling. 

“Excuse me!” Jamie said, turning to face Dani, “I was actually the one who got rudely awaken by this wee gremlin here, disturbing me sleep”. 

Mikey laughed and protested his innocence. 

“You excited for kids club today?” Dani asked as she stretched her arms out wide. 

“Yeah! It's canoeing today! I love canoeing!” Mikey responded excitedly as he rummaged through his suitcase to try and find what he wanted. He eventually pulled out a pair of swimming trunks and a bright yellow t-shirt. 

Jamie then took him to the campsite bathroom to have a quick shower and to change into his clothes whilst Dani figured about how to boil the tiny kettle on the little stove so she could make porridge for them all. 

When they arrived back, Dani had three bowls of steaming hot porridge waiting for them which Mikey quickly wolfed down, excited to go to canoeing today. 

After they all finished their breakfast, Jamie took Mikey to his kid’s camp and just as they were leaving, Mikey ran over to Dani and wrapped his arms around her, “Have a nice day Dani” he said. 

“You too little guy, enjoy your canoeing”.

“So…” Jamie said, coming up behind Dani who had started to clean up the tent, “Now we have the day to ourselves… what do ya want to do?”. 

Dani chuckled as she leant back into Jamie. “Hmm, I dunno, what do you want to do today?”. 

“Well… Jamie said, letting her hands trail under Dani’s PJ t-shirt and onto her bare stomach, “I have a few ideas”. 

Dani giggled, “Well, actually I do have an idea but, can I have a shower first?”. 

Jamie laughed and she spun Dani around in her arms, “Yeah come on then”. And with that Jamie took Dani to the campsite’s bathrooms. 

Dani stepped into one of the showers and Jamie followed her, “Can I join ya?” Jamie said cheekily. 

Dani just giggled, “Sure, but no funny business, save that for later”. 

Jamie did as she was told but that didn’t stop her hands wondering all over Dani’s body as she showered. 

After she finished washing, Dani spun Jamie around, so she was under the water and started to gently rub the soap covered sponge over Jamie’s body. 

After they had finished showering and made it back to the tent, Dani said “Here” handing Jamie some swim shorts she had brought with her. 

Jamie cocked her eyebrow and looked at Dani confused. “What?”. 

“Put them on” Dani said, pulling a different swimsuit than the one she had on the day before out of her suitcase, “I’m gunna teach you how to swim”. 

“Dani” Jamie said, “Why? I told ya water isn’t exactly my best friend, don’t think I'm destined to swim”. 

Dani sensed some nervousness in Jamie’s voice and turned to her, holding onto Jamie’s forearms, “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but I promise I’ll keep you safe”. 

Jamie smiled, “We can go but I'm not gunna be able to swim. I’ll just sit and watch ya in that sexy swimsuit”. 

Dani giggled and blushed, “Fine, I’ll take that”. 

Once that got changed into their swim gear, they headed out of the tent and Dani lead the way to the lake. 

“Actually,” Jamie said, pulling Dani back, “I know a better place we could go”. Jamie bit her lip and winked at the blonde who just nodded and followed Jamie’s lead. 

“Oh my God” Dani said as she followed Jamie down a small dirt path and through some trees. She was met with the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. In front of them was a small pond, surrounded by willow trees. “Jamie, it’s… it’s beautiful”. 

“I know right” Jamie said turning around to face Dani who gently kissed her lips. 

“How did you know about this place?” Dani asked and Jamie walked them to a pile of rocks where she placed a blanket down and sat on it. 

“Came across it the second year we came here, and I’ve come here every year since. Like to come when Mikey’s off at kids club for a bit of peace and quiet y’know, clear me head”. 

“It's so peaceful, I love it” Dani said as she started to take off her sweatpants and t-shirt. Jamie bit her lip as she watched Dani undress. 

“You too” Dani said, seeing the brunette out the corner of her eye staring at her. 

“But I don’t want to, can't you just swim, and I watch ya?” Jamie said protesting. 

Dani finished removing her clothes and folded them neatly into a pile next to her. “Why don’t you like water Jamie?” Dani asked sitting down next to the brunette facing her. 

“Who said I didn’t?” Jamie replied. 

“Jamie…” Dani said, giving her a serious look. 

“Fine, maybe I am a little scared of water, it's just that…”. Jamie looked away from Dani and stared at the body of water in front of her. “I just had a bad experience is all and I’ve never been in water since”. 

Dani placed a hand on Jamie’s bare knee and stroked her thumb in a calming rhythm. 

“Never wanted Mikey to have the same fear so I took him to swimming lessons and here and thank god he loves it otherwise I’d feel guilty that I’d passed my fear onto him”. Jamie stared down at her feet and let out a shaky breath. “But now I feel guilty that I can't join him in doing what he loves though”. Dani took hold of Jamie’s hand and kissed the back of it gently. 

After a few moments of reflective silence Jamie looked up at Dani and said, “Will you teach me?”. 

“To swim?” Dani asked, slightly unsure what Jamie meant. 

“Yeah. I wanna learn but with someone who makes me feel safe”. 

“Of course I will, baby” Dani said smiling widely and kissing Jamie’s cheek. 

Jamie slowly rose from the rock where she was sat and removed her t-shirt and shoes. Dani reached out a kind hand which Jamie took, and Dani lead her to the edge of the water. “Can I get in first to see how deep it is?” Dani asked and Jamie just nodded. 

Dani sat on the edge of the pond and dipped her legs in, it was a lot warmer than she had imagined. She slid into the pond and her feet met the floor almost instantly. She walked around the pond for a while, testing out its depth. Luckily, it wasn’t very deep at all and pretty much everywhere she went she could stand up. Dani swam back to Jamie who was sat on the edge of the pond with her feet in the water. 

“Want to come in?” Dani asked softly and Jamie nodded. It was a little shaky, but she reached out to Dani who helped her in. 

Jamie’s feet touched the ground and she stood up, the water only reached to just below her waist. 

“You okay?” Dani asked, still holding onto Jamie. 

“Yeah… I think so”. 

“Do you wanna walk around for a bit?” Dani asked and Jamie just nodded. 

The pair slowly walked around the pond hand in hand and Jamie made a mental note of the deeper areas of the pond. 

Eventually Jamie had become accustomed to the water and decided she wanted to learn how to swim. It was a little weird at first as Dani had her doing loads of funny exercises that made no sense. “Did you actually used to be a swim teacher back in America or are ya just trying to make me look stupid?” Jamie asked. 

“No, I wasn’t, but I took my class swimming every week, so I got to learn a little from observing the swim teachers there” Dani said. 

Eventually Dani actually got to the swimming part and instructed Jamie on what to do and told her that she was here to help her if she needed it. Dani held Jamie up with her hands under her stomach and Jamie slowly started to learn how to swim. It didn’t take long for Jamie to pick up the skill. She was still apprehensive and not the strongest of swimmers, but it was a start. Jamie was extremely proud of herself and the grin on her face was huge and toothy after she swam on her own without needing Dani to aid her. Jamie came paddling back to Dani and stopped right in front of her and wrapped her arms around her tightly, picking her up. 

“I can't believe you actually taught me how to swim”. Dani giggled as Jamie put her down and kissed her lips. 

“It was all you” Dani said, “I was just here for support”. 

“I love you” Jamie said wrapping her arms around Dani’s waist and pulling her close. 

“I love you too” Dani said nuzzling their noses together. 

Jamie kissed her and it quickly turned hot and messy and before they knew it, they were pulling away gasping for breath. 

“Maybe we should… erm, take this somewhere else?” Dani said. 

“Maybe we should” Jamie said picking Dani up and sitting her on the edge of the pond.

They walked quickly back to their tent, stopping every once in a while, to kiss. As soon as they made it back, Jamie unzipped the tent and Dani climbed in with a huge grin on her face. The warm summer sun had dried their bodies, but their clothes were still a little wet. Jamie quickly zipped the tent back up and turned around to see an already naked Dani. 

“Fuck, that was fast” Jamie said chuckling and reaching up to remove her wet sports bra. 

Dani quickly dried her torso with a towel and then threw it to Jamie who did the same. Once all their clothes were off and they had quickly dried the excess water off themselves, Jamie walked over to Dani and connected their lips. They gently made their way to the floor, trying hard not to break the kiss. 

After a few minutes of hot open-mouthed kissing and tongues fighting for dominance, Dani flipped the pair over, so she was straddling Jamie. 

“Can I?” Dani asked and Jamie nodded quickly, knowing exactly what Dani wanted to do. 

Dani made her way up Jamie’s body, so her thighs were on either side of Jamie’s head. 

Jamie looked at the woman above her, “Jesus Christ Dani, you’re so hot” she whispered. 

Dani smirked, as she looked down at Jamie, her eyes dark with desire. Jamie quickly brought Dani to orgasm and Dani had to shove her hand over her mouth to stop herself from making too much noise. 

After a few minutes of rest. Dani once again climbed on top of Jamie. She slowly made her way down Jamie’s pale, toned body, leaving kisses everywhere she could before she settled her head between Jamie’s thighs. Jamie was quickly brought to orgasm too and Dani reached up a spare hand to cover Jamie’s mouth as she moaned her name. 

Both women laid in a comfortable silence for a while, snuggled into each other’s warm bodies. When Dani shivered, Jamie reached for a blanket to cover them both with. 

“I love you so much” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear, scared that if she spoke too loudly, the moment would be broken, and they would have to resume their day. 

“I love you too baby” Jamie said, turning her head to kiss Dani’s forehead, “Forever”.


	8. First Christmas Together

[Mature Content]

The snow was falling quickly and softly outside, building on the already covered pavements. Dani stired softly in bed and pulled Jamie closer into her unconsciously as she shifted positions. 

The daylight was slowly filling the room when Dani heard the door to Jamie’s bedroom creek open and soft footsteps make their way towards the bed. She felt a weight climb on to the end of the bed and make their way over to Jamie. 

“Jamie” a soft voice whispered whilst shaking Jamie’s leg. 

Dani heard Jamie groan and she felt the sheets being pulled up and she guessed Jamie had pulled them up to cover her head. 

She heard the voice quietly whisper her name and small hands grip her shoulder to shake it. She slowly opened her eyes, and she was met with an eager eyed Mikey sat between her and Jamie with one hand on her shoulder and one hand on Jamie, shaking both of them. His smile grew and turned toothy as he saw Dani open her eyes. 

“Dani!” he shouted, jumping on top of her and wrapping his arms around her. 

Dani and Mikey had grown very close in the past few months since they had told him about their relationship. Dani took Mikey to the park every week, she took him to Judo and always stayed to watch him when she could, and she was currently teaching him how to bake. 

Mikey loved having Dani around, of course he loved Jamie unconditionally and no one would ever replace Jamie but there was something about Dani that Jamie didn’t have. Mikey couldn’t exactly put his finger on it but having both Jamie and Dani in his life made him very happy. 

“Good morning Mikey” Dani whispered, shifting to pull her arm off of Jamie’s waist and move it out of the covers to ruffle Mikey’s hair, “Merry Christmas sweetheart”. 

“Has he been yet?” Mikey said, lifting his head off of Dani’s chest and looking eagerly into her eyes. 

“I don’t know, shall we go and look?” Dani replied enthusiastically, sitting up in bed. 

Mikey gasped and smiled brightly before jumping on top of Jamie quite roughly. “Jamie come on, wake up! We’re going to see if Father Christmas has been! Come on!”. 

Jamie just groaned and rolled over to face Mikey. She lifted her arm up to run her fingers through her hair, but Mikey grabbed it before she could and tried to pull her up with all his might. 

“Dani help” he said as he tugged on Jamie’s arm. 

Dani giggled and pulled herself out of the duvet and joined Mikey in trying to pull Jamie up.

“Not you too” Jamie groaned, and Dani giggled. 

“Jamie come on!” Mikey said before Jamie suddenly shot forward and grabbed him. She threw his onto the bed next to her and started to tickle him. “Jamie! Stop!” Mikey shouted through his loud laughter. 

Dani watched from the end of the bed and Jamie looked up and winked at her whilst still tickling Mikey. Dani smiled widely at Jamie. She adored mornings like these, just the three of them together laughing and having fun together. Dani had always wanted a family of her own and it had felt like she had finally gotten one. 

Jamie stopped her tickling and picked Mikey up and slung him over her shoulder. “Let’s go see if Father Christmas had been yet, shall we?”. 

Mikey couldn’t stop laughing as Jamie carried him into the living room. Jamie placed Mikey down on the floor and ruffled his hair. “Oh my god!” Mikey shouted, “He’s been!”. Mikey ran toward the Christmas tree in the corner of the room with all the presents Dani and Jamie had thoughtfully arranged last night. 

“Good morning baby” Dani said softly as she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s waist from behind. 

“Good mornin Poppins, Merry Christmas” Jamie replied as she turned around in Dani’s arms and kissed her lips. 

“Merry first Christmas together” Dani said after she pulled away from Jamie’s lips, “Hopefully many more to come”. 

“Hopefully” Jamie said as she placed another soft kiss on Dani’s lips. 

Jamie turned back around and led Dani to the couch so they could sit down. They sat and watched as Mikey excitedly opened his presents one by one. Dani had insisted on buying him some without Jamie’s help and all the ones she had bought, Mikey had loved, and it made Dani’s heart swell with pride and fulfilment as Mikey wrapped his arms around her and told her thank you. 

Dani and Jamie opened their presents after they had lovingly watched Mikey open all of his. They had agreed to not spend a lot of money on each other but obviously neither of them could help overspending. Once they had opened all their presents from each other, Jamie quickly ran into the kitchen and pulled a bag out of a cupboard before running back to Dani. 

“Here, it’s the last one I promise” Jamie said as she handed Dani the gift bag. 

“Jamie, not another one, we said we wouldn’t spend a lot of money on each other” Dani protested as she took the bag from her. 

“Last one I swear, and I didn’t actually buy it, I, erm, grew it”. Dani looked at Jamie with knitted eyebrows before she opened the gift bag. 

“Jamie,” Dani said softly as she pulled a pot out of the bag with a bulb in it, “you grew this?”. 

“Yeah,” Jamie said, 

“It’s a, erm, moonflower”. 

“A moonflower?” Dani asked as she inspected the bulb more closely. 

“Yeah, it only blooms at night and only once too”. 

“And what happens after that?” Dani asked, genuinely intrigued. 

“That’s it, it dies. Then you have to grow a whole new plant. They're bloody hard to grow ‘ere too, but it’s, erm, it’s worth it”. 

Dani just stared at Jamie, carefully studying her face as she spoke. “Wow, Jamie, that’s a lot of work for just one flower, I feel so special” Dani said, giggling softly. 

“Well, you are” Jamie said as she kissed Dani’s temple, “That’s why you get the last flower of the season”. 

Their small moment was interrupted by Mikey running over to them and asking, “What did you you get?”. 

Dani picked up the pot to show Mikey. 

“A moonflower?” he asked, looking at Jamie for an answer. 

“Sure is” Jamie said smiley proudly at the little gardener she had created. 

“How did you know?” Dani asked laughing. 

“Jamie always grows them at the manor every year. She lets me stay up sometimes to watch them open” Mikey said, moving closer to look at the bulb. 

“Oh, she does, does she? Well, maybe you can stay up to see this one then too, as long as that’s alright with Jamie” Dani said looking over at Jamie for reassurance. 

Jamie winked and said “Sure, as long as you can stay awake until midnight but that might be a little difficult since you woke us up at 5:30”. Dani giggled as she watched Jamie and Mikey interact. 

“Of course I can stay awake until then, I’m not even tired!” Mikey shot back before going back to play with his gifts. 

“Thanks for the moonflower” Dani said standing up and going to sit on Jamie’s lap. She wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and kissed her cheek, “And all the other gifts, I really loved them”. 

“Your welcome Poppins, glad ya like ‘em” Jamie said smiling and kissing Dani softly. 

“I, erm, I have another gift for you...” Dani said before leaning into Jamie’s ear whispering, “but, erm, it’s not very... child friendly shall we say”. 

“Oh” Jamie said raising her eyebrows and smirking slightly, “Well, I look forward to finding out what it is”. 

“I think you’ll really enjoy it” Dani whispered winking at Jamie and biting her bottom lip seductively. 

A wave of heat shot between Jamie’s thighs and she squeezed Dani’s hips just a little too tightly. Jamie reached up and connected her lips with Dani’s and the kiss got a little too heated and Dani started to grind her hips down onto Jamie to try and find a little friction that could satisfy the growing ache between her legs. 

Mikey shouting in the background at a toy which quickly brought them back to the present and they both pulled away giggling. “Well,” Dani said chuckling and clearing her throat, “Got a little carried away there didn’t we? Do you want tea?”. 

Jamie stopped Dani from walking away by pulling on her arm, “No, you stay here, ya shit at making tea, I’ll do it”. Dani laughed as she sat back down on the sofa. “Mikey, want a hot chocolate?” Jamie shouted as she walked away into the kitchen. 

The rest of the day went smoothly. The three of them snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket between them and watched Christmas films whilst eating way more chocolate than they should have done. Mikey would get on and off the sofa to play with his new toys every now and then, but he would always return to Jamie’s side and wrap his arms around her.   
Jamie had insisted on cooking which scared Dani as well as Jamie. She had never really cooked a proper Christmas dinner before but had decided to try since Dani had so kindly cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal for her and Mikey, so she wanted to return the favour. Jamie had put the turkey in the oven as early as she could since she didn’t want to serve an undercooked turkey like she had done a few years ago. 

After the second film had finished, Dani lifted her head off of Jamie’s shoulder and said, “Shall I make a start on the vegetables?”. 

“No, you stay and relax, I said I’d cook” Jamie said as she rose from the sofa, being careful to not disturb a napping Mikey at the side of her. 

“I know but let me help, or just let me stand behind you whilst you cook”. Dani protested. She knew Jamie couldn’t cook and didn’t want her to be stressed about it and Dani was also quite hungry and would like to actually have a Christmas dinner that wasn’t burnt to a crisp. 

“Fine, I suppose a little help wouldn’t go a miss”. 

With that, Dani followed Jamie into the kitchen, jogging behind her a little so she could place her hands on her hips as they went. Dani stood back and watched as Jamie pulled out some potatoes to chop. As Jamie stood at the chopping board cutting, Dani stood behind her, wrapping her arms around her stomach and kissing her neck. Jamie didn’t protest, she only stood and let Dani roam her hands under her PJ top and kiss and lick her neck. Dani hummed into Jamie’s neck softly and squeezed her tightly, “I love you so much, Jamie” Dani said softly. 

“I love you too, sweetheart. Here, put ya wondering hands to use and chop these will ya?” Jamie said handing Dani a bunch of carrots. Dani quickly got to work but not before letting her hands wonder a little more across Jamie’s body. 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence with only the sound of knives hitting chopping boards, Jamie said “Hey, I’ve really enjoyed today, probably the best Christmas we’ve ever had”.   
“I’ve really enjoyed today too Jamie and it’s probably the best Christmas I’ve ever had too. I’ve always dreaded Christmas, all the intruding personal questions, the stress and all the pressure to pretend everything is going well in your life, I was just glad when the day was over but, not today. I don’t want it to end really”. 

Jamie reached over and placed her hand on Dani’s hand to stop her chopping and smiled gently at her, “I’m so glad we found each other”. 

“Me too, baby” Dani replied, wrapping her arms around Jamie and pulling her closer. They just held each other for a moment, breathing in each other’s scent. Both women couldn’t help but feel like they were home. For Jamie she was actually at home but home had meant something different after she had met Dani. Jamie’s home had always been Mikey but now Dani was part of that equation too. 

For Dani, she had never really felt like she had had a home. The house she had grown up in had never felt like home and neither had the house she had lived in with her fiancé. But when she met Jamie, she had felt this instant connection with her which she had never felt with anyone else before. Over time, this connection with Jamie had turned into a feeling of comfort and security and this had resulted in Dani now calling Jamie her home. 

Their moment was quickly shattered by Mikey running into the kitchen but as he dashed round the corner, her tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the ground. The sound of Mikey hitting the floor broke Dani and Jamie away from each other and they both ran over to him. When they got there, Mikey was already crying. 

“Oh Mikey, what happened? Are you okay?” Dani said scanning over his body on the floor. 

Jamie helped him sit up and as he did, they saw the stream of tears running down his face. He continued crying and reached out his arms to Dani. Dani picked him up and sat him on her knee. His arms wrapped around her neck and he cried into her chest. Dani rubbed his back and rocked him softly to try and comfort him. 

“What hurts sweetheart?” she asked as she held him closer. 

“Knee” Mikey said softly in between cries. 

“This one?” Dani said setting her hand gently on Mikey’s right knee which was bleeding a little. Mikey just nodded as he kept crying into her chest. 

Jamie sat back and watched as Dani tried to comfort Mikey as he sobbed and clung onto her. Jamie’s heart almost exploded with love as she watched the pair. She was so happy that Dani had come into her and Mikey’s life. She had brought so much joy to their lives in such a short time and Jamie couldn’t imagine her life without Dani beside her. 

“Here,” Dani said as she lifted Mikey up and placed him in the kitchen counter, “let’s have a look at that knee, shall we?”. 

Mikey’s cried had slowed down a little, but the tears were still falling from his eyes. Dani wiped them away softly with her thumbs and kissed him on the forehead before walking over to a cupboard to try and find the first aid kit. Jamie had already beat her to it and handed her a small bag. Dani smiled softly at Jamie and Jamie smiled widely back as their eyes met and told each other an unspoken message. 

Dani walked back to Mikey and cleaned up his knee gently, trying not to hurt him. She placed a plaster on the cut and said, “There you go, all better now”.   
Mikey smiled, his cried had slowed down and his tears had stopped. “Not yet, you’ve got to kiss it better” Mikey responded softly. 

Dani turned to look at Jamie, a little confusion on her face. 

“Jamie always says you have to kiss it better to make the hurt go away”. 

Jamie laughed as she turned to look at Dani who was a little confused by Mikey and Jamie’s little ritual. 

“Okay” Dani said and smiled at Mikey before bending down and kissing the top of the plaster on Mikey’s knee. 

Jamie followed closely behind and placed her hand on the small of Dani’s back before bending down and kissing Mikey’s knee. “All better?” Jamie asked. 

“Yeah” Mikey said after wiping his eyes, “Thank you, Dani” he said and wrapped his arms and his legs around her. Dani picked him up, but she didn’t let go, she just held him tightly for a second and kissed the side of his head. 

“I love you, Dani” Mikey said as his arms squeezed tighter around Dani’s neck. 

“I love you too, Mikey” Dani whispered back. Tears formed in Dani’s eyes and one slowly trickled down her cheek after what Mikey had just said to her. 

Jamie noticed this and walked over to the pair, kissing Dani’s tear away and then wrapped her arms around the pair, holding both of them tightly. 

Jamie outdid herself with the cooking. Although she stressed herself out a little, it was all worth it to see Dani and Mikey enjoy it. Mikey devoured his dinner within minutes and he even asked for seconds which had never happened before with Jamie’s cooking. 

Dani had her first taste of Christmas pudding which she didn’t really like so Mikey ate her portion as well as his own. Dani also experienced her first ever Christmas cracker which Mikey had surprised Dani with. Mikey had just assumed that Dani had pulled a Christmas cracker before, so he just handed it her and told her to pull which she did. The high-pitched scream she let out when she pulled it sent Jamie running into the living room in shear panic expecting something bad to have happened only to be met with a startled Dani and Mikey on the floor laughing. 

The night had ended with the three of them on the sofa again, wrapped up in a blanket watching another Christmas film but this time Mikey had cuddled up into Dani instead of Jamie. He had his head resting on her chest and his arms wrapped around her neck. 

As the film drew to a close, Dani could hear Mikey’s soft snores falling from his slightly ajar lips. Jamie had noticed Mikey had fallen asleep on Dani and she gently placed a kiss on his forehead then another one on Dani’s shoulder. “Shall I take him to bed?” Dani asked, looking at Jamie softly. 

“Yeah, can do. Do ya want help?”. 

“Think I’ve got him. He wanted to see the moonflower open though” Dani whispered as she stood up carefully as not to wake Mikey. 

“It might not bloom tonight anyway and if it does, we can always wake him up” Jamie replied, standing up and walking behind Dani as she carried Mikey to his bedroom and tucked him in bed. 

After they had put him to bed, Dani carefully got out the final present she had for Jamie from a bag in the back of Jamie’s wardrobe. “Here” Dani said as she walked over to Jamie who was sitting on her bed, flicking through the photos she had taken that day. 

“Oh, I forgot about that” Jamie said, looking up from her phone and quickly placing it on the bedside table before taking the box from Dani’s hands. Jamie hadn’t exactly forgotten about the comment Dani had made earlier in the day, but she had pushed it to the back of her mind. 

Dani sat in front of Jamie cross-legged starting at her eagerly waiting for her reaction. 

“Can I?” Jamie asked as her fingers played with the red ribbon tied around the box. 

Dani just nodded and bit her lip half anxiously and half in anticipation of what she knew Jamie was about to find. Jamie pulled on one end of the ribbon and the knot untied itself. Jamie lifted the lid and her eyes widened when her eyes fell on the item in the box. Dani was still biting her bottom lip as her eyes scanned over Jamie’s face. Jamie gulped as she looked over the item before her eyes looked up and met Dani’s. 

“You mentioned getting one a few months back, so I just thought... I could get one and we could, erm, try it” Dani said softly as she studied Jamie’s face. 

Jamie traced her fingers over the item and picked it up gently. 

“Do you, erm... like it?” Dani asked quietly. 

Jamie nodded and a smile smirk appeared on her lips, “Yeah... yeah I do”. 

“Do you wanna...” Dani said trailing off. 

Jamie nodded eagerly and leaned over to kiss Dani’s lips, “Yeah, as long as you do too”. 

Dani licked her lips and leant forward to whisper in Jamie’s ear, “Yeah, well actually... I’ve been imagining it for a while now, ever since I bought it really”. 

“Oh really?” Jamie whispered back, “Maybe you’d like to tell me what you’ve been imagining doing then?”. 

A small smirk appeared on Dani’s lips before she quietly whispered back “How about I just show you instead?”. 

Jamie’s breath hitched in the back of her throat and a wave of desire ran right through her body and settled in between her legs. She could already feel the pool of warmth between her legs as her heart rate increased. 

Dani gently took the item from Jamie’s hands and laid it on the bed beside them. Dani then crawled on top of Jamie and kissed her lips softly. The soft kiss didn’t last long before tongues were exploring mouths and hands were desperately roaming in search of skin. Dani rocked her hips down into Jamie and Jamie quickly matched the pace. Soft moans were leaving red swollen lips as items of clothing were quickly being tugged at and removed. 

Their movements were clumsy and desperate, but it wasn’t long before they were both naked. It was then when Dani reached for the item she had placed next to them on the bed. She skilfully got off of Jamie and stood up next to her. She placed the item on her, adjusting the straps as she went. 

Jamie just watched her with her lips slightly parted and her chest heaving. As she watched Dani skilfully put on the strap on, she could feel her arousal rising. Her already wet folds were dripping by the time Dani came back and sat back on her lap. 

“I thought you wanted me to wear it first” Jamie said softly, and she eyes Dani up. 

“Well, if I’m being honest... I’ve imagined myself wearing it more than you so... I wanted to try it out first, as long as that’s okay with you”. 

Jamie’s hips instinctively rolled upwards in search of friction and she breathed out quietly “Fuck, Dani, yeah... that’s fine with me. Just, erm... go gently, y’know, erm, I’ve never, erm, done anything like this before”. 

Dani could sense Jamie’s nervousness which had never really happened before when it came to them having sex. Jamie had always been the more confident one, always leading and reassuring Dani but this time, it was the other way around. 

“Hey, I’ve never done anything like this either so, we’re in this together baby” Dani said kissing Jamie’s lips softly, “And I’ll go as slow and as gently as possible and if you don’t like it, that’s fine, just tell me, and we’ll stop okay?”. 

Jamie knew she was safe with Dani and she would never intentionally hurt her, but she was still a little nervous, but she couldn’t deny how much it turned her on to see Dani like this. Jamie loved when Dani took control, and she knew how much it turned Dani on to be in control too. Jamie nodded and whispered against Dani’s lips “I trust you”. 

Dani smiled into their kiss and quickly heated things up. Her tongue slid into Jamie’s mouth and Jamie fought back but Dani’s tongue won the flight. Dani then kissed down Jamie’s neck whilst her hands massaged her breasts. She had never heard Jamie moan this much before during foreplay and she wondered if it had anything to do with what they were about to try.   
Dani’s hand wondered down to where Jamie needed her the most. Her delicate fingers ran through the wet folds she had become so familiar with. Jamie let out a series of soft moans when Dani’s fingers began circling her clit. 

After a few moments Dani slid two fingers into Jamie which caused her to let out a loud moan. Dani quickly kissed Jamie to silence her noises as not to wake Mikey. 

“Baby” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips, “You’re going to have to be as quiet as you can for me okay? I know it’s going to be hard, but you’ve got to stay quiet”. Jamie just nodded and whispered a small okay as she focused on Dani’s fingers moving in and out of her steadily. 

Dani reached into the box that was now on Jamie’s bedside table and pulled out a bottle of lube. Jamie watched wide-eyed as Dani rubbed lube onto the strap-on. Jamie moaned as she watched Dani’s hands move up and down on the shaft of the toy that was about to go inside of her. 

“You ready?” Dani asked softly, searching for the answer in Jamie’s eyes. All she was met with was deep dark desire. 

“Yeah” Jamie breathed out. “Remember, if you want me to stop” and Jamie nodded before Dani had a chance to finish her sentence. 

Jamie shuffled herself down the bed a little as she got into a comfortable position and Dani positioned herself between Jamie’s legs. 

Dani opened Jamie’s legs a little in order to position herself correctly. She had done a lot of research before she had bought the toy and had done a lot of research after she had bought it on what was the best ways to use it, so she was well informed before she introduced it to Jamie. 

Dani slowly positioned it in front of Jamie’s entrance and slipped it in. Jamie let out a soft moan at the sensation and Dani carefully searched her eyes for any signs of discomfort. Dani slid the toy in halfway before pulling it out again. 

“That okay?” Dani questioned and she was met with an eager nodded from Jamie, so Dani repeated the action. 

Slowly, she built up the pace into a steady rhythm and Jamie was quietly moaning underneath her. The toy was also designed to pleaser whoever was wearing it and Dani could feel her own need for more friction building up. 

“Faster” Jamie moaned out just a little too loudly and Dani kissed her lips to silence her, but she granted her request and increased her pace. 

Dani was getting the toy all the way inside Jamie now and Jamie was gripping onto her arms and bucking her hips to the pace as to try and get more friction. 

“Fuck, God Dani” Jamie said, and Dani leant down to try and quieten her then Jamie whispered in her ear “God Dani, baby you feel so good inside of me”. 

Dani could have sworn she could orgasm just from hearing Jamie whisper those words to her. Dani moaned at what Jamie had just said to her and at the sensation of the toy on her centre. She knew Jamie wasn’t far off of climaxing as she could feel some resistance as she pushed the toy in and out. 

“Faster” Jamie moaned as she pushed Dani further into her. 

Dani did as she was told, and the quicker pace only caused her own climax to build nearer. Dani reached down with one hand and circled Jamie’s clit. 

Within a minute, Jamie was gripping Dani’s back tightly and was ready to hit her peak. “Come for me Jamie, come for me, good girl” Dani whispered in the brunette’s ear and this was enough for her to come undone. 

Jamie cried out as quietly as she could, and Dani quickly placed her mouth over hers to try and silence her cries. Watching and hearing Jamie orgasm tipped Dani over the edge and she brought herself to orgasm by quickening the pace at which she was going in and out of Jamie. Dani cried out and her body shook as she collapsed on top of Jamie. 

Jamie reached her arms around Dani and hugged her close. “Jesus Christ Dani” Jamie whispered softly, “I’ve never come like that before”. 

Hearing Jamie’s words, another wave of desired went straight to Dani’s centre and she moaned softly. She lifted up a little so she could kiss Jamie and the kiss was hot and wet but full of love. Dani’s hips naturally rocked as she kissed Jamie which caused Jamie to moan and her legs to twitch as the toy was still inside of her. Both women chuckled and Dani delicately removed the toy from Jamie and took it off of her. 

She collapsed at the side of Jamie who wrapped her arms around her softly. They both laid in silence for a while, catching their breaths. “God, I love you so much” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear. 

“I love you so much too, baby” Dani replied, 

“Did you like your Christmas present?”. 

“Do you even need to ask Poppins?” Jamie chuckled softly before kissing Dani’s forehead lovingly and pulling Dani closer into her.


	9. Dani's Birthday

Dani’s birthday fell on New Year’s Day. Her whole life she would stay up until midnight to ring in the new year, and after the celebrations were over, everyone would sing her happy birthday. Her birthday was always kind of overshadowed by the celebrations and then the hangovers the next day, so she rarely celebrated her birthday on the day, but Dani never minded, she wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to be at the centre of attention. 

This year however, her birthday was going to be a little different as she was spending the day with Jamie and Mikey who had been planning a surprise for her all week. 

Jamie and Dani had stayed up until midnight watching a few films on TV and drinking wine together as they cuddled on the sofa. A few minutes before midnight, Jamie woke Mikey up who was fast asleep on the other end of the sofa. Sleep had gotten the best of him around 10pm even though he was determined to stay up all night and when he finally gave in, Dani wrapped a blanket around him to keep the cold air from getting to him. 

The three of them counted down with the numbers on the TV screen and when they hit zero and the fireworks started, Jamie wrapped her arms around Dani’s waist and pulled her closer into her, “Happy New Year, Poppins”. 

Dani kissed Jamie’s lips softly before pulling away and saying, “Happy New Year, baby”. 

Jamie pressed her lips against Dani’s again and whispered against them, “And Happy Birthday, I guess”. 

Jamie let go of Dani and picked Mikey up and sat him on her hip, “Happy New Year, kiddo” she said as she kissed his cheek which made Mikey scrunch his face up. 

Dani laughed at the sight of Mikey sat on Jamie’s hip. Mikey was quickly nearing Jamie’s height already, so it took her a lot of effort to pick him up now, but Jamie still did it anyway. Mikey was almost unaware of his own height or weight because of this so, he would always ask Dani to pick him up, but her short frame and lack of physical strength inhibited her from being able to do so.   
“Happy New Year, Mikey” Dani said as she kissed him on the top of his head and ruffled his already messy blonde hair. 

After they finished watching the firework display, Jamie stood up with Mikey still attached to her and said, “Right, let’s get to bed shall we, I'm absolutely knackered”. Jamie then set about walking Mikey to his bedroom and Dani hung back, collecting the blanket off the sofa and folding it neatly into a pile before wondering over to Mikey’s bedroom. 

As she approached the door, she heard Jamie and Mikey whispering and they stopped as soon as Dani knocked lightly on the slightly ajar door. 

“Came to say goodnight” Dani said as she stepped into the silent room and found both Jamie and Mikey looking directly at her. 

Jamie kissed Mikey’s forehead and ruffled his hair before telling him goodnight. 

Dani walked over to Mikey and tucked his blanket around him before telling him goodnight too and kissing his forehead softly. Mikey lifted his arms up and wrapped them around Dani before she could stand up and leave. “Happy Birthday” he whispered in her ear. 

“Thank you, sweetheart” she said before walking towards his door, flicking the light off and leaving the room. “Sleep tight” she said as she closed his door and walked into Jamie’s bedroom. 

Jamie was already tucked up in bed when Dani walked in. Her eyes were shut, and Dani watched her for a few seconds before Jamie opened one eye to look at her. 

“Staring at me again?” Jamie said, chuckling slightly. 

“Yeah, maybe, a little” Dani replied, walking over to Jamie and getting into bed herself. Jamie pulled Dani closer as she got comfy under the duvet. 

“Happy New Year” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear as she kissed her neck and buried her face into it. 

“Happy New Year too, baby. I’m so glad we got to spend it together” Dani said softly, as she pushed her back further into Jamie’s front and took hold of Jamie’s hand that was resting on her hip. 

Jamie didn’t reply and there was a moment of silence before Dani heard the sound of Jamie’s soft snores behind her. Dani giggled before pulling Jamie’s arm around her tightly and letting sleep take over her too. 

“Happy Birthday to you!”. Dani opened her eyes slowly as she heard the all too familiar song being sung poorly in front of her and she smiled when she saw Jamie and Mikey sat in front of her on the bed holding a cupcake with a candle in it. 

Jamie and Mikey continued singing as Dani sat up in bed and wiped the sleep from her tired eyes. 

“Make a wish” Jamie said as she held the cupcake closer to her, waiting for her to blow the candle out. Dani closed her eyes, made a wish then blew out the candle in one short blow. Mikey clapped and Jamie cheered as the smell of the smoke filled their noses. 

“Happy Birthday” Jamie said, handing the cupcake to Dani so she could eat it. 

“You want me to eat it right now? It’s 7am” Dani giggled as she took the cupcake from Jamie’s hands. 

“You always have to have cake for breakfast when it’s your birthday” Mikey said then he bent down to pick up a pile of presents on the floor. 

“Yeah, it's a Taylor family tradition” Jamie said laughing. 

Dani nodded and smiled before she took a bite. “Oh my God, this is delicious” Dani said, “Did you make this?” she asked, directing her question at Mikey. 

“Yeah, just how you showed me too” he replied, a large proud smile filling his face. 

“Wow, thank you so much! You did a great job, high-five” Dani said, holding her hand up for Mikey to high-five her, which he did, a little too hard like always. 

“I got you these” Mikey said giving her two presents, “And these Jamie got you” he said pointing to a pile of presents next to her. 

“Oh, wow guys, you shouldn’t have, thank you”. Dani said, looking at the pile of presents that now surrounded her. 

Jamie and Mikey sat watching Dani eagerly as she opened all her gifts. Dani felt a little awkward being at the centre of everyone’s attention, but she didn’t mind too much, it felt nice when it was just Jamie and Mikey staring at her. 

Mikey had gifted her a pink flowery apron for when they bake together to save her clothes from getting dirty when he accidentally gets ingredients everywhere. He also gifted her a few of his drawings and paintings which he had made especially for her at school. 

Jamie had bought her a few tops and dresses which Dani had seen when they had been out shopping together but wouldn’t buy for herself, a small silver necklace with a heart pendant on which had their initials engraved in it, a pair of earrings Dani liked but also wouldn’t buy for herself and a keyring with a picture of the three of them on from when they all went camping together. 

“Guys,” Dani said after she had finished opening all of her presents, “this is too much, really”. 

Jamie leant forward and kissed her cheek, “Just wanted to show how much we care about ya, is all”. 

“I know you care, you didn’t need to buy me all this” Dani said, smiling softly at Jamie. 

“Yeah, we did. Oh, Mikey, the, erm, other present. The one on the kitchen table” Jamie said, turning to face Mikey who was already on his way into the kitchen. 

He came back a few moments later, stumbling under the weight of a basket. 

“Guys” Dani said as she sat up a little further in bed. 

Jamie took the basket from Mikey and placed it on the bed. “Open” Jamie said, gesturing for Dani to open it. 

Dani reached over and lifted the lid, “A picknick basket?”. 

Jamie and Mikey nodded, “We’re going on a picknick!” Mikey shouted and Jamie laughed at him as he bounced around on the bed in excitement. 

“We are?” Dani said, smiley widely. 

“Yeah, Mikey’s idea. Didn’t know exactly what to do for ya birthday and well, Mikey here had the bright idea”. 

“Come here” she said to Mikey who launched himself at Dani and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Dani groaned a little as he landed on top of her, but she squeezed him tightly in her arms and kiss his head. 

“You too” Dani said, looking at Jamie who was sat at the bottom of the bed. Jamie crawled across the bed towards Dani then wrapped her arms around Dani and Mikey and kissed both of them on the head. 

“Thank you for all my presents and for the cupcake and I can't wait for the picknick” Dani said as she held Jamie and Mikey tightly in her arms. Dani could already tell that this was going to be her favourite birthday ever.

All three of them had gotten washed and dressed then made their way into the kitchen to eat the rest of the cupcakes Mikey had made for their breakfast. 

After that they all sat down to watch a movie of Dani’s choice. Dani had chosen Love Actually which Jamie and Mikey both groaned at in the beginning but ended up really enjoying. 

After the film was over, Jamie and Mikey left to go into the kitchen to prepare the picknick food. Dani was a little hesitant at letting Jamie prepare the food, but Jamie assured her that she wasn’t going to cook anything and that she had mainly bought food from the supermarket for them to eat. 

A while later they all walked to the local park hand in hand. Mikey was in the middle with Dani and Jamie on either side of him holding one of their hands. 

The day was surprisingly nice for the time of year. The sun was shining brightly, the sky hardly had a cloud in sight and the ground was thankfully dry. 

Mikey chose a spot underneath a large oak tree for them to sit at and eat. They laid the blanket down and all got on top of it. Jamie placed the picknick basket in the middle of the three of them with the opening facing Dani. 

Dani had noticed that Jamie had left the bright red ribbon wrapped around the basket and she wasn’t sure if that was intentional or not. She also noticed that Jamie and Mikey were fidgeting in their seats and she was curious as to why, maybe it was just the excitement, but their faces held a hint of nervousness. 

“Shall we start eating?” Dani said to which Jamie and Mikey both nodded their heads eagerly. 

Dani lifted the lid of the basket and as she did, her eyes met a small black box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. “What’s this?” Dani said as she picked up the box. 

“Erm, it's ya final present. It’s from both of us” Jamie said, looking over at Mikey for a second and smiling at him knowingly. 

“Guys, you’ve given me enough presents today, I don’t deserve all of this” Dani said as she smiled softly at the pair in front of her who were waiting eagerly for her to open the present. 

Dani pulled the ribbon lose and opened the box. As she pulled the lid off, her eyes found a small silver key laid in the box. “A key?” Dani questioned, looking up at Jamie with confusion written across her face. 

Jamie’s eyebrows were knitted slightly as she picked at the skin on her fingernail. “Yeah… it’s a key to, erm, our apartment, if ya want it. We love having ya round and ya fill the place with so much joy and light and when ya gone, the place feels a little empty. Actually, it feels a lot empty without ya Dani, like somethings missing, something big. So… we’ve had a chat and we were wondering if you’d, erm, like to move in with us?” Jamie said, looking directly into Dani’s eyes, trying to not let her nerves show. 

Dani smiled widely as Jamie spoke and she could feel her eyes starting well up with tears. 

“I mean, if ya want to, whenever ya ready, we don’t mind” Jamie said, hoping she wasn’t putting too much pressure on Dani. 

Dani swiftly moved around to Jamie and flung her arms around her and hugged her tight. She moved her arm to gesture for Mikey to join in with the embrace. “Oh my God” Dani said as she pulled away, “I’d love to, as long as you want me, I don’t want to get in the way or anything”. 

Jamie could feel her own tears run down her face and she smiled brightly, reaching up to put her hands on Dani’s cheeks to wipe away her tears and hold her face. “You could never get in the way, Dani. Actually, kinda the opposite, we’re actually pretty lonely when ya gone” Jamie said kissing Dani’s lips softly, tasting a mixture of their salty tears. 

“Is that a yes then?” Mikey said as he looked intently at Dani’s face to try and read her emotions. 

“Yeah, yes, of course it's a yes” Dani said, and she opened her arms for Mikey to hug her. Dani wrapped her arms around Mikey and sat him on her knee. 

“Sure you don’t mind me living with you?” Dani asked, looking down at Mikey to catch his eye. 

“Yes! We can bake together every day and you can stop Jamie burning tea every night and you can read me stories, it’s gunna be so much fun!” Mikey said, his eyes shining as he looked up at Dani. 

Dani laughed as she kissed the top of Mikey’s head lovingly. 

“It was actually his idea first” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear. 

Dani smiled widely and held onto Jamie’s hand with her free one. Happy tears fell from her eyes as she kissed Jamie’s lips softly and Jamie handed her the key. 

“Here” Mikey said, jumping off Dani’s knee and reaching into his coat pocket, “You can put it on this, it's why we got it you”. 

Dani laughed as she took the keyring she had been gifted and she slid the key onto it. “How about that?” Dani said holing the keyring up with the new key on it. 

“Looks good” Jamie said and kissed Dani’s temple. 

Mikey’s stomach growling loudly interrupted the moment which made everyone burst out laughing. “Guess we getter get eating then?” Jamie said as she reached into the basket to grab the plates. 

They sat there in the park for a few hours, eating, chatting and playing games in the park. Mikey kept rhyming off all of the things they could do now Dani was going to be living with them and Jamie had to remind him that it wasn’t just a fun sleep over and that Dani wouldn’t be baking cakes with him every day for the rest of his life. He didn’t seem to mind though, he was just excited for Dani to be living with him permanently as a few tears often left his eyes every time Dani had to leave and go back to her own apartment. 

The rest of the day went smoothly, they all walked back to Jamie’s apartment hand in hand, feeling a little sick after eating too much food. 

When they got back, Mikey and Dani played with some of the Christmas presents he had gotten a few days earlier whilst Jamie sat on the sofa reading a book. 

“Anyone want anything?” Dani asked as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Jamie and Mikey both shook their heads and Dani left to get herself a glass of water. 

As she stood at the kitchen sink with a glass in her hand, she could feel a few tears welling up in her eyes. She had never felt this happy or this at home in her whole life and it all felt a little overwhelming, but in a good way. All her life she had wanted to belong somewhere and to someone and now she did. She now had a family of her own who loved her unconditionally. As she wiped the tears from her face, more fell and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. 

As she let out a shaky breath, she felt hands slide around her waist and a chin rest on her shoulder. Dani instantly stopped breathing and tensed. “Hey, you good?” Jamie said softly, feeling all of Dani’s body tense under her touch. 

Jamie removed her arms from around Dani and turned her head to try and see Dani’s face. When she did, she saw Dani’s puffy face and red eyes with tear marks down her cheeks. “Baby, what’s wrong?” Jamie said, fear suddenly setting in. 

Dani chuckled and wiped her eyes, “I'm fine, sorry”. 

“Ya face says something else, Poppins, what is it?” Jamie said, not letting Dani get away with telling her she was fine when clearly she had been crying. “Is it about the moving in thing because ya don’t have to if ya don’t want to, if it's too soon, I get it, we’ve only-” Jamie said, reaching out to take one of Dani’s hands. 

“No, no, it's not that, well it is, but it's not too soon Jamie. It’s just that… I’ve never been this happy before” Dani said, cutting Jamie off and trying to reassure her as tears fell from her eyes again. 

Jamie smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Dani, pulling her as close as she could. “I’m just so happy, Jamie. It's a little overwhelming” Dani said as she clung onto Jamie’s shoulders. 

“So ya crying cos ya too happy?” Jamie said, breathing a sigh of relief and chuckling into Dani’s neck. 

“Yeah” Dani said laughing loudly now, her tears still running down her face. 

Jamie pulled away and held Dani’s face with her hands, trying to wipe her tears away with the pads of her thumbs. “Well, I’m glad ya happy Poppins, cos I am too. Never been happier actually” Jamie said before pressing her lips softly onto Dani’s. 

Dani hummed into the kiss and pulled Jamie closer into her by her hips. “God, I love you so much Jamie” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips, her eyes still closed. 

“I love you too Dani, more than you’ll ever know” Jamie whispered, resting her forehead against Dani’s. 

A moment of silenced passed before Dani broke it, “When can I move in then?”. 

Jamie laughed softly, “Whenever ya want Poppins, whenever ya want”.


	10. Moving In Day

Since Jamie had asked Dani to move in with her and Mikey, it had been a hectic few days for Dani as she made the necessary arrangements so she could move in with them as early as possible. Dani’s monthly contract for her apartment renewed on the 5th every month so she politely rang her landlord and asked if she could cancel the contract, even though it was at such short notice. 

Dani’s landlord didn’t mind though, he was an elderly gentleman with a long white beard who smiled widely at everyone he met. He smiled a little more at Dani though than the average person, a young blonde American woman who appeared to be very innocent caught everyone’s eye in Bly, especially the men. Dani had learnt to laugh politely at their inappropriate comments and carry on with her day, but Jamie definitely hadn’t. 

Jamie was very protective of everyone she loved, and at this current moment, her list wasn’t very extensive, just Dani and Mikey. If anyone bullied Mikey or even so much as said a nasty comment about him, Jamie was there, and she made sure nothing like that ever happened again. And the same went for Dani too. If Jamie ever heard anyone, especially a man, say anything remotely inappropriate about Dani, she would them straight without hesitation. Jamie was always weary of Dani’s landlord when he was around Dani as she didn’t like the way he smiled when he looked at her but luckily, his affection for Dani allowed her to terminate her contract with him without giving the required 2 months’ notice. 

As Dani had needed to leave her apartment by the 5th, that only gave her 4 days to move out, so it was all hands on deck. Dani had spent the past 2 nights at her own apartment, instead of at Jamie’s. Usually during the holidays, Dani would spend most of her night’s at Jamie’s as she didn’t need to go to work and during term time, Dani would spend less time at Jamie’s which both of them hated, but now it would all be different. 

Today was the day that Dani would be officially moving out of her apartment and into Jamie’s. Jamie had agreed to drive Dani’s belongings back to her apartment in her truck and Mikey had agreed to help out in any way he could. They were both so excited for Dani to move in that both of them hardly slept a wink the night before. 

Jamie and Mikey arrived at Dani’s apartment dot on 9am as they said they would and got out and made their way up the all too familiar staircase to her front door. 

“Good morning guys” Dani said brightly as she opened the door the greet them with a huge toothy grin plastered on her face. Jamie wasn’t exactly a morning person, she usually reserved her energy for later in the day, but she loved how no matter how early it was, Dani was always light and cheery.

Mikey threw his arms around Dani’s waist and hugged her tightly. “I’ve missed you sooooo much, Dani” he said as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. 

Dani leant forward with Mikey still attached to her and kissed Jamie on the lips. “Good morning, baby” Dani said softly against Jamie’s lips before kissing her lovingly again. 

“Mornin’ Poppins, how’s things going ‘ere then?” Jamie said, smiling at Dani then looking around the room. 

Dani’s apartment was full of boxes and bags randomly placed around in what looked like no particular order. 

“Looks like a bombs hit” Jamie said, walking into Dani’s living room, followed closely by Mikey. 

“Yeah, I know, sorry for the mess, just ignore it, it’ll be gone soon enough” Dani said, walking towards a pile of boxes in the corner of the room that had writing on the sides. “Shall we start with these? They are all things I'm keeping”.

“Okay” Jamie said walking to the pile of boxes and picking one up. “Here” she said giving the box to Mikey, “Reckon ya can carry this one”.

Mikey did as he was told and the three of them each carried a box to Jamie’s truck.

For the rest of the day, the three of them loaded boxes into Jamie’s truck and Jamie would take them to the appropriate places. Some of the boxes were for Jamie’s apartment, some for the local charity shop and some for the trash. Dani was quite surprised at the number of things she had collected over the past year and a lot of it she no longer had use for, such as a lot of her summer clothes that she had brought with her from America, so she had decided to donate them.

When all the boxes had been taken to their appropriate destinations, Jamie and Dani arrived back at Jamie’s apartment and fell onto the sofa. 

“God I'm knackered now” Jamie said as she placed her feet on the coffee table and laid her head on Dani’s shoulder. 

Dani kissed the top of Jamie’s head and wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled the brunette closer into her. “Thank you for all your help today”.

“No problem Poppins, my pleasure” Jamie said, letting herself relax into Dani’s body.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jamie sat up a little so she could look at Dani’s face. Dani’s eyes were shut, and her cheeks were still a little rosy from the cold air outside. “Hey, Poppins” Jamie whispered.

Dani opened her eyes and looked at Jamie waiting for her response.

“Welcome home” Jamie smirked.

Dani smiled widely, showing her teeth. She lowered her head so her lips could meet Jamie’s. Jamie pulled Dani’s face closer to her and hummed into the kiss. 

Mikey came just as Jamie pulled away from Dani’s lips and he pulled Dani up from the sofa by her arm. “Look” he said excitedly, dragging Dani to the door, “Jamie put you a hook there, for your key”. 

Dani followed Mikey’s pointing finger to the key hook behind the door which was now accompanied by another hook. Dani turned her head to look at Jamie who was still sat on the sofa smirking at her. Dani looked back at the two hooks side by side which was were holding a set of keys each.

“Thanks” Dani said walking over to behind Jamie and kissing the top of her head, “I love it, baby”.

Jamie just reached for Dani’s hand and gave it a simple squeeze.

Later that day, Dani had disappeared into Jamie’s bedroom, which now belonged to the both of them, to unpack whilst Jamie and Mikey completed some of Mikey’s homework that was due in at the start of the new term.

As Dani was unpacking the last box of her clothes into Jamie’s wardrobe which was only half full before Dani came along, Dani felt Jamie’s familiar warm hands rest on her hips. “Don’t have to do all that today y’know”.

“I know but I want to, I don’t want all these boxes getting in your way”.

“Have ya seen the state of this apartment sometimes, hardly think a few boxes will get under our feet” Jamie said chuckling and spinning Dani around to face her. “Come ‘ere”.

Dani giggled as Jamie pushed her backwards so her back was pressed against the wardrobe.

The pair giggled as Jamie’s hands wondered along Dani’s all too familiar body whilst her lips licked and sucked on Dani’s neck.

“Stop it, Jamie, before we get too carried away” Dani said after enjoying Jamie’s actions for a few moments. 

Jamie pulled her lips away from Dani’s neck but kept her hands on her hips. “Don’t you wanna christen ya new home, Poppins”.

Dani giggled, “Don’t you think we’ve already done that?”.

“Not since you officially moved in. Come on, we have time” Jamie said, taking Dani’s hand and leading her to the bed that they now shared.

“Jamie, what about Mikey?” Dani whispered and Jamie pushed her onto the mattress.

“He’s fine, he’s busy”.

Jamie climbed on top of Dani and carried on where she had left off, kissing and biting her neck. Dani moaned when she Jamie’s hands wonder up her jumper and start to massage her breasts over bra. Jamie grinned as she felt Dani’s hips begin to rock underneath her and she moved one of her knees between Dani’s legs so she could find some much needed friction. Dani moaned softly as she felt Jamie’s thigh against her centre, as she began griding herself down onto it.

After a few minutes of soft moans and wondering hands, Jamie jumped off Dani quickly when she heard Mikey shout “Jamie! I need help!”. Dani giggled as she heard Jamie groan and look at herself quickly in the mirror before leaving to help Mikey.

Dani laid on the bed for a few moments as her breathing stabled then got up and racked her fingers through her slightly messy hair. She then made her way into the bathroom and started to run a bath.

When the tub was nearly full, Jamie came back into the bedroom to see Dani sat on the bed. She looked into the en suit and saw the water running in the bathtub. 

“Wanna join me?” Dani said as she stood up and walked into the bathroom and turned off the taps. 

“Don’t mind if I do, Poppins” Jamie said smirking as she followed Dani into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Dani reached for the hem of her jumper and started to pull it up when she felt Jamie’s hands on hers. “Can I?” Jamie whispered.

Dani nodded and Jamie slipped her jumper of her head and threw it onto the floor in the corner before softly pressing her lips onto Dani’s. “I love you so much” Jamie whispered as her hands began taking Dani’s bra off too.

“I love you too, baby” Dani giggled as her bra was discarded and Jamie’s nimble fingers began pulling her skirt down her legs. 

Jamie kissed her way down Dani’s stomach lovingly as she pulled her skirt down and allowed Dani to step out of the material. 

It wasn’t long before the two women were both naked. Jamie got into the tub first and Dani followed behind her as she sat down. They both got comfy and Jamie wrapped her arms around Dani’s waist as Dani laid her back against Jamie’s front and rested her head on her shoulder. 

The pair laid in silence for a while, letting the feeling of the warm water wash over them. “I love when we do this” Dani said quietly as she held onto Jamie’s hands that were resting on her stomach, drawing small circles on the soft skin. 

“Mmh, me too Poppins, should do it more often”.

Dani just hummed in response and let herself sink further into Jamie’s body as Jamie placed soft loving kisses on her neck and shoulder. 

After a few minutes of silence, Jamie let out a small chuckled as she heard soft snores fall from Dani’s mouth. Jamie just squeezed Dani tighter and placed a small kiss on her shoulder before sitting back and closing her eyes herself.

Jamie delicately woke Dani up when the water started to lose its soothing warmth by whispering her name into her ear and rubbing her hands across her stomach slowly. 

“Oh my, I'm so sorry” Dani said as she opened her eyes and realised that she had fallen asleep.

“Don’t be sorry, baby, you were tired” Jamie said as she sat the pair up a little. “Waters kinda gone a little cold so thought I’d wake ya up, didn’t want you to get a chill”.

Dani giggled and rubbed her eyes a little before sitting up then getting out of the tub. Jamie followed her and pulled the plug out of the bath to release the water. 

Jamie wrapped a towel around Dani and began drying the water off her skin. Dani giggled at the sweet simple action and watched Jamie lovingly dry her off.

Once the pair were dry, they got changed into their PJs and made their way into the bedroom. Dani walked over to Jamie who was rummaging through her draw and wrapped her arms around her. “I love you so much Jamie, do you know that?” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear as she stood up straight.

Jamie turned around in Dani’s arms and kissed her lips softly, “Course I know that, ya tell me like 20 times a day, Poppins”.

Dani giggled, “It doesn’t feel like enough though”.

“Ya can tell me as many times as ya want Poppins, I won't complain, but always know that I do know how much ya love me. Hope ya know how much I love you too”.

“I do” Dani said as she rested their foreheads together. 

The pair giggled as Mikey interrupted their moment once again. “Dani!” he shouted, “I need your help!”.

The pair made their way into the kitchen where Mikey was sat at the kitchen table doing his homework. “Why don’t ya need my help?” Jamie said as she walked up to Mikey and ruffled his hair before sitting down next to him. 

“You don’t know this, but Dani will” Mikey stated simply, not lifting his head up from his piece of paper.

“Well,” Jamie said laughing, “guessing this is your forte” as she looked up at Dani who was sat across the table from her.

Dani just smiled at Jamie as she stood up.

“Anyone want a cuppa?” Jamie said walking over to the kettle.

The evening went by quickly with Jamie making dinner whilst Dani sat at the kitchen table with Mikey trying to explain his fractions homework to him. Jamie loved watching Dani teach and she wished she could see Dani teach a full class. She was just so patient with Mikey and would explain the same thing to him a hundred different ways until he understood it. Jamie would glance at the pair every now and then whilst she was cooking and kept listening as Dani explained the questions to him. 

When Mikey had finished his homework, he sprinted to his bedroom to put his work in his school bag, ready for Monday. “Glad we have a teacher ‘ere” Jamie said as she walked over to Dani and placed her hands on her shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze.

Dani hummed at the sensation and she leant her head back to rest it on Jamie’s stomach.

“Wouldn’t have a clue where to start at explaining fractions to him, don’t even know if I fully understand ‘em meself” Jamie said chuckling whilst still massaging Dani’s shoulders. “Woulda helped if I had a teacher like you who actually gave a shite”.

Dani just chuckled softly and placed her hand on one of Jamie’s hands that was on her shoulder. “If you wanna learn about fractions, I’ll happily teach them to you sometime”.

“Like the idea of ya being me teacher, but don’t think I’d pay much attention to the fractions part” Jamie said before kissing the top of Dani’s head.

Mikey then came running back into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “When’s tea ready, Jamie?” he asked after he gulped down his glass of water.

“Just dishing up, mate, we were waiting for you” Jamie replied as she left Dani’s side and went to plate up their dinner.

The rest of the evening went by as it always did, they ate dinner together then Jamie put Mikey to bed. Mikey had insisted Dani read him a bedtime story since she now lived with them and Dani had done as she was asked. She laid in bed next to Mikey in bed and Jamie laid at the bottom listening as Dani read Mikey his favourite book. 

Dani had saw the book one day when she was out shopping a few months ago and thought it seemed like a book Mikey might enjoy so she bought it for him. When she stayed over at Jamie’s apartment a few days later, she gave it to him, and he was absolutely thrilled, and he even went to bed early so Dani could read it to him. 

Once the book was finished, Mikey was almost asleep, so Dani carefully got out of his bed and tucked the blanket around his little body. “Good night sweetheart” Dani whispered as she kissed Mikey on the forehead. 

“Night kiddo, love ya” Jamie said as she kissed the top of Mikey’s head.

Both women snuck out of the room as quietly as they could and shut the door behind them.

“I hope I get to do that every night from now on” Dani said as she and Jamie entered their bedroom.

“What, read him a story?” Jamie asked, a little confused as to what Dani meant.

“No, well, I mean I love reading to him, but you like to read to him too so, we can both do that” Dani said as she pulled the duvet back and got into bed. They didn’t always go to bed when Mikey did, but it had been a long day and they were both pretty tired. “I mean tell him good night. I like tucking him in and wishing him a good night’s sleep, I miss doing it when I'm not here”.

Jamie smiled lovingly at Dani. She had hoped that one day she would find someone who loved her as well as Mikey and here was Dani Clayton, a beautiful, kind, caring, thoughtful and incredibly sexy woman who loved Mikey just as much as she loved Jamie. “I have no idea what I did to deserve ya Dani Clayton, but whatever it was, I’m bloody glad it did it and got you as the reward” Jamie said as she climbed under the duvet and got on top of Dani.

Dani just giggled as Jamie placed her hands on either side of her face and kissed her lips softly. Jamie’s lips then placed delicate kisses on Dani’s cheeks, nose and forehead. “What do you mean?” Dani asked, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

“I’m just so glad I found ya is all. Didn’t really think I’d find love and I never thought I’d ever find anyone who loves Mikey as much as I do but then you showed up and well, here we are Poppins, proud parents”.

Dani laughed at the later part of the sentence, but her heart twinged with a little hurt at the thought of Jamie spending so many years on her own, thinking she was unworthy of love. “There’s no one I’d rather be a parent with” Dani said softly, smiling up at Jamie who was beaming down at her.

“Ya want more kids, in the future?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah, as long as you do” Dani said, her mind wondering to scenarios of her and Jamie having a baby of their own.

“Yeah, never really wanted to do the whole kid thing when I was younger but then Mikey showed up and now you and yeah, think having kids with ya would be nice, like a dream actually”.

Dani smiled sweetly up at Jamie and she rubbed her thumb along Jamie’s hip. “Shame we can't make a baby together, I’d love to know what a little Taylor-Clayton baby would look like”.

Jamie smirked and bit her lip seductively, “Well, we could always try”.

And with that Jamie slid her hands quickly under Dani’s shirt, taking the blonde by surprise, and grabbed her by the waist and started to kiss and bite her neck as Dani giggled underneath her.

The rest of the night was spent christening their new bed that was no longer just Jamie’s but now belonged to the both of them.


	11. Snow Day

[Mature Content]

It had been two weeks since Mikey and Dani had been back at school and the alarm went off at 6:30 am like it did every morning, filling the silent room with an unnecessarily loud ringing noise that could quite possibly wake the dead. Both women groaned and Dani reached over to her nightstand and turned off the alarm. 

Jamie’s grip tightened around Dani’s waist as the blonde reached for the alarm and once the ringing had stopped, Jamie pulled Dani back down into bed. “Don’t leave” Jamie whispered as she buried her face into the back of Dani’s neck. 

The routine was the same every morning, the alarm would ring, Jamie would pull Dani back into bed and the pair would lay in silence for a while cuddling until Dani eventually needed to get up.

After around 5 minutes of gentle kisses and holding each other close, Dani kissed Jamie’s cheek and prised herself out of Jamie’s arms. Jamie groaned as she let Dani go and pulled the duvet over her head. Jamie then closed her eyes and let sleep take over.

Not long after she had drifted back off to sleep, Dani woke her up again by pulling back the duvet to expose Jamie’s face and kissed her lips. “I just woke Mikey up, he’s getting dressed. I’ll go and make breakfast, anything you want?” Dani whispered as she held Jamie’s cheek in her hand and caressed it softly. 

“Bacon” Jamie said in her husky morning voice.

“Okay, baby” Dani said giggling as she kissed Jamie’s forehead and left the room to go and make breakfast. 

Not long later, a fully dressed Jamie walked into the kitchen to see Mikey sat at the kitchen table with his school uniform on eating a bowl of cereal and Dani stood at the stove cooking. “Mornin’, kiddo” Jamie said as she walked past Mikey and kissed the top of his head.

“It’s snowed, Jamie” Mikey said excitedly and dropped his spoon in the bowl of cereal and pulled Jamie to the window.

“Shit it has an all” Jamie said as she looked out the window to see the pavement covered in a very thick layer of show. “Gunna have to get it all off the truck before school too”.

Just as Jamie said that, Dani’s phone started to ring. 

Jamie carried on looking out of the window and sighed at the thought of having to clear the snow at the manor today. That the one job she hated doing as the groundskeeper, shovelling snow and laying grit. She would have laid grit the day before if she knew it was going to snow but the weather forecast hadn’t said anything of the sort.

“Okay, that’s great, thanks for letting me know, have a nice day” Dani said as she hung up the phone. “Well,” she said turning towards Mikey, “Looks like me and you are having a snow day today, schools closed”.

Mikey ran over to Dani and said, “Really? No school today? Yes!”. Mikey then ran around the table and over to Jamie “Jamie, Jamie, we can stay home today! Can we go build snowmen?”.

Jamie laughed and ruffled his hair, “Afraid I have to go to work still, kiddo, but don’t see why you and Dani can't go build snowmen together”.

Mikey groaned as Jamie told him she’d still have to work but his face soon lit up again when he heard he would get to spend the day with Dani. 

Jamie walked over to Dani and puller her in close and kissed her lips softly. “You okay looking after him all day? I can take the day off if not, I don’t mind” Jamie said, whispering in Dani’s ear. 

“Yeah, it's fine, I’ve got the day off anyway so we may as well spend the day together, isn’t that right Mikey” Dani replied before quickly kissing Jamie’s cheek.

Dani tried to turn back around to the kitchen counter, but Jamie pulled her back and squeezed her tightly, “I don’t wanna go to work, can't I have a snow day too?” Jamie groaned as she leant her forehead on Dani’s shoulder. 

Dani just giggled and rubbed Jamie’s back soothingly, “I wish you could baby”. After a few seconds pause, Dani said, “How about we come to work with you, help you out? Mikey would have plenty of snow to build snowmen with at the manor”.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea” Jamie said, lifting her head up from where it was gently placed on Dani’s shoulder, “All I’d be doing is shovelling snow and gritting anyways, can't see why ya can't help me with that. Plus, I’d get to finish earlier too, so we could all do something together later”.

“Well then, sounds like a plan. We can shovel snow can't we Mikey?” Dani said as she let go of Jamie to hand her the breakfast she had made for her. 

All three of them ate breakfast together then got changed into appropriate clothes to shovel snow with. All three of them then climbed into Jamie’s truck and headed to the manor.

“I see you’ve brought help today, Jamie” Hannah, the manor’s housekeeper said when Jamie, Dani and Mikey arrived. 

“Saw the snow outside and reckoned I’d need more than one pair of hands to clear this lot” Jamie said as she handed Dani and Mikey shovels.

“Well then, I’d better put the kettle on. The usual for everyone?” Hannah said, walking towards the kitchen.

Jamie had brought Dani and Mikey to the manor quite a few times now so everyone who worked at the manor was familiar with them. Mikey usually accompanied Jamie to work in the school holidays when Jamie couldn’t get time off or anyone to look after him. Mikey actually enjoyed going to the manor though, he would keep himself busy playing in the gardens or help Jamie with whatever she was doing and even Hannah would look after him some days and keep him occupied.

The three of them set about clearing the paths in the manor’s grounds that were covered in a thick layer of snow. 

Halfway into the job, Mikey got a little bored and started using the snow that they had cleared to build a snowman with. Dani couldn’t help but put her shovel down and walk over to help him.

Dani hadn’t seen snow like this before and it brought out her inner child. Dani’s inner child was always showing itself and Jamie loved it when Dani would get enthusiastic about sometime that was really meant for children. Dani’s pupils also loved this about her as it made her teaching extremely fun and exciting. Dani hadn’t made a snowman since she was little, so she was very excited at the prospect of making one, especially making one with Mikey.

Jamie watched as Dani and Mikey laughed and ran around in the snow before creating a moderately sized ball of snow which was getting too big for them to push around. 

Jamie laughed as Mikey ran over to her and pulled her by the hand, making her drop her shovel, so she could come and help them.

After they were content with the size of the snowball, they all set about making a smaller one to go on top of it. Jamie had to remind Mikey to not make one too big as they had to actually pick it up to put it on top of the larger snowball.

Once the two snowballs were on top of each other, Mikey ran to Jamie’s greenhouse and found an old scarf whilst Dani collected some rocks to use as buttons and facial features. Jamie was given the task of finding suitable sticks for the snowman’s arms and Hannah had kindly offered to give Mikey a carrot for the nose.

“Ta-dah!” Mikey shouted as he finished wrapping the scarf around the snowman’s neck and stood back to look at his creation. 

“Did a good job there didn’t ya, kiddo?” Jamie said as she picked him up and spun him around. 

Mikey giggled and nodded as he was placed back on the ground.

“Looks fantastic” Dani said as she admired their work. 

“Come on, lets finish shovelling so we can go home early. What ya want to do later, since you’ve got the day off?” Jamie said, turning her attention to Mikey and Dani.

Mikey thought for a second before shouting, “Theme park!”.

“Think the theme park might be closed, munchkin, with all the snow and everything. Anything other than the theme park ya want to do?” Jamie said laughing a little and picking up her shovel.

Mikey stood with his hand on his chin for a second, thinking before saying “Game night!”.

Jamie laughed, “Game night we can do. What do ya reckon Dani, up for game night?”.

Dani smiled and chuckled, “Yeah, game night sounds good, expect I always lose”.  
Jamie and Mikey laughed, knowing full well Dani was terrible at game night and lost every game they’ve ever played together.

Jamie, Dani and Mikey spent the rest of the afternoon clearing the snow from the paths and once they had finished, they made their way home. The job took a little longer than anticipated, even with three pairs of hands, so they hadn’t had time to eat lunch, so Jamie ordered them pizza. 

“Mikey, get the games out while I get the pizza” Jamie shouted as she heard the doorbell ring.

When she came back, Mikey and Dani were sat on the living room floor side by side with a pile of games in front of them, waiting patiently for her to bring the pizza.

Jamie put the pizza box down on the floor and they all eagerly grabbed a slice. 

The theory was confirmed one again after game night had ended; Dani sucked at playing games. Dani lost every single game they had played that night, she lost at Kerplunk, Twister, Monopoly and even snap.

“How are you so bad?” Jamie said as she laid on the couch with Dani’s head in her lap whilst playing with her hair. 

They had just put Mikey to bed and Jamie was now listening to the new record Dani gifted her for Christmas.

“I don’t know! I try, I just, I don’t know, I just always end up losing” Dani said laughing.

“To a 6-year-old too, that really says something about ya gaming skills Poppins” Jamie replied, smiling.

“I guess games just aren’t my thing” Dani said chuckling, “But I’m good at other things though”.

“You certainly are” Jamie said smirking and biting her lip.

Dani giggled and sat up. She carefully placed herself on Jamie’s lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Tell me what I’m good at, Jamie” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

Jamie’s breath hitched in the back of her throat and a wave a heat settled between her legs. She loved where this was going. “Well, you’re good at cooking, I'm pretty shit at that” Jamie said chuckling.

“You know that’s not what I meant, but yeah you’re right, you aren’t the best cook are you baby?” Dani said giggling.

Jamie laughed for a few seconds before letting her hands wonder under Dani’s thick jumper. She gripped her waist tightly and let her fingernails dig a little into Dani’s soft flesh as she pulled the blonde closer to her so she could whisper into her ear, “Well, you are pretty good at using that Christmas present ya bought me”.

Dani smirked as she remembered back to Christmas day and how she made Jamie come like she had never before. “Yeah, I was pretty good at that” Dani whispered back into Jamie’s ear. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Jamie bit her lip instinctively as she felt her arousal increasing. “Maybe I could try this time?” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear as her hips rocked up and her lips began kissing Dani’s neck.

Dani giggled and moved her head to the side as Jamie began biting her neck. “Wanna take this to the bedroom?” Dani asked quietly as her hips began to roll in search of a little friction.

Jamie didn’t say anything, instead she just put her hands under Dani’s thighs and carried her to the bedroom, never once taking her lips away from Dani’s neck.

The pair made it onto the bed after a few detours where Jamie pinned Dani to the wall to get better access to her neck and chest.

Jamie quickly took Dani’s clothes off and Dani got under the duvet as Jamie took her own clothes off. Dani didn’t like being under the duvet when they had sex as she liked to see Jamie, but the air was cold in the apartment and she didn’t want them to catch a chill.

Jamie soon joined her under the duvet and climbed on top of her. “You’re so beautiful, Dani, have I ever told ya that?” Jamie said softly as she connected their lips together. 

Dani blushed in response and wrapped her arms around Jamie, pulling her closer. 

After a few minutes of making out, Jamie's hand began wondering down to where Dani needed her the most. 

Dani let out a series of soft moans as she felt Jamie’s all too familiar fingers trace circles on her centre. “I wanna ride you” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear. 

Dani’s comment took Jamie by surprise and her circling stopped quickly came to a holt. She pulled away from Dani’s lips and looked at her in the eyes, “Blimey, Miss Clayton, never thought I’d hear ya say that to me”.

Dani smirked as she saw Jamie’s eyes turn dark.

Jamie reached into the draw beside them and took out the box with the toy in. Dani helped her put it on as Jamie had never worn it before and all the straps were a little confusing.

Eventually the toy was strapped to Jamie and she looked down at herself and bit her lip. She slowly stroked the toy and Dani watched closely as she did so. “How much of this stuff shall I put on?” Jamie said looking down at the tube of lube in her hand. 

“Here” Dani said taking the tube out of Jamie’s hands and squirting some on her hand. She then placed her hand of the shaft of the toy and began rubbing the lube on.

“Holy Fuck” Jamie breathed out as she watched Dani look up at her as she rubbed the lube on the toy.

Dani bit her lip as she and Jamie made intense eye contact as her hand rubbed up and down the shaft of the toy. She pushed the toy a little so it would press against Jamie’s centre and as it did, Jamie let out a deep breathy moan. 

“God, Dani Clayton, I think you’ll be the death of me” Jamie whispered, as she leant down and kissed Dani hard. 

The pair swapped positions so Jamie was sat down on the bed with her back against the headboard and Dani on top of her. 

The pair kissed a few times before Dani lifted herself up and placed the toy underneath her. She gently lowered herself onto it and as the toy entered her, she let out a low moan. 

Jamie held Dani up for extra support as she watched the toy enter her. Dani moved the toy in and out of herself a few times so she could adjust to the feeling of it being all the way inside of her. 

Jamie watched Dani intently, making sure Dani wasn’t in any discomfort. 

Dani smiled widely at Jamie as she sat down on her lap with the toy all the way comfortably inside her. 

“Jesus Christ, Dani, you’re so hot” Jamie breathed out as she connected their lips together passionately. 

The kisses were slow and messy and naturally Dani’s hips began to rock slowly in time with their kisses and as they did, she let out soft quiet moans. 

Jamie held onto Dani’s hips and helped her rock them. 

Jamie was soaked by this point from just watching Dani moan above her. They had never done anything like this before so Jamie had no idea just how much she would like it. She felt almost powerful with Dani sat on top of her, riding her and the more Dani moaned, the more Jamie needed a release.

Luckily for Jamie, the more Dani rolled her hips, the more the toy stimulated her centre and as Dani’s pace quickened, they were both holding onto each other and moaning into the other’s mouths. 

“God, Jamie, you feel so good, baby” Dani whispered as she grinded herself down onto the toy. 

Jamie moaned as her hips rose to meet Dani’s pace. “You like that, baby girl? You like me inside of you?” Jamie whispered in a deep husky voice as she watched Dani on top of her.

Dani’s eyes were now tightly shut, and her hands were tightly gripping Jamie’s shoulders for some much needed support. The duvet had long been thrown back, their bodies far too warm to be covered anymore. 

Jamie could sense Dani was nearing her climax and held onto her hips tightly and helped her keep her movements regular. “Keep going baby, that’s it, keep going baby” Jamie whispered against Dani’s chest.

“Jamie, God, you feel so good, I’m so close” Dani cried, her voice hoarse and deep.

“I know baby, me too, keep going, that’s it” Jamie said, trying to hold back her moans. 

Jamie knew she was going to reach her climax soon and reached a hand down to rub Dani’s centre. 

Dani moaned loudly as Jamie’s thumb began drawing circles on her clit and her hand quickly shot off Jamie’s shoulder and over her mouth. 

“Fuck, Jamie, I’m, oh God, Jamie” Dani cried out as she reached her orgasm. 

Jamie came shortly after Dani as Dani’s hips violently bucked forward and caused the toy to stimulate her clit and tip her over the edge.

Dani collapsed onto Jamie and her hips slowly stopped their rocking. “Jamie” Dani breathed out as she held onto Jamie’s body tightly.

“Shh” Jamie said, rubbing Dani’s back softly as their breathing slowed. 

After a few moments, Dani whispered, “God Jamie, that was, that was so good. I’ve never… felt like that before. You felt so good, inside me”.

Jamie just chuckled and continued her loving stokes on Dani’s back. “Glad you enjoyed it, baby” Jamie said, and she placed soft kisses on Dani’s shoulder.

“At least I’m good at something” Dani giggled softly.


	12. A Day Out at the Zoo

Jamie and Mikey’s birthdays fell on the same day which Dani thought was extremely odd. What were the chances that siblings born 20 years apart who had no idea the other even existed until a few years ago were born on the same day? It was extraordinary. 

Although Jamie had met Dani before her birthday last year, she had neglected to tell her when her birthday was so, this year would be the first year they would celebrate together. As a result, Dani had felt a little pressure to do something special for the both of them. She had tried to ask Jamie what she wanted to do to celebrate but in a way that wasn’t too obvious. 

After a few weeks of Dani asking strange questions with little context, Jamie eventually turned to her and said, “Are you trying to ask what I want to do for my birthday?”.

“No!” Dai shot back a little surprised as she thought she had been doing a good job at not disclosing why she had been asking Jamie such random questions for the past week. 

Jamie just smirked and raised her eyebrow as she looked at Dani.

“Okay, maybe I am” Dani finally said, knowing Jamie knew what she was trying to do, “I just want to plan something special for you guys like you did for me, but I don’t have any good ideas”.

“Poppins, ya don’t need to do owt special for me birthday ya know that. Honestly, I’d be quite happy if we just laid on the sofa together and watched TV the whole day” Jamie said, turning to face Dani and taking hold of her hands.

“But we do that every night” Dani protested, her eyebrows were still furrowed.

“I know, well, I like it. Nowt wrong with that is there?” Jamie said, pulling Dani closer into her so her hands could rest on her hips.

“But I want us to do something nice to celebrate you. If you don’t wanna do anything special, how about Mikey, what will he want to do?” Dani said, still trying to find something that they could do together.

“Well, he’s always wanted to go to the theme park but think I might wait a few years ‘fore I take him. I know he’s tall but he ain’t tall enough for all the rides yet, want to get me money’s worth out of the ticket” Jamie said chuckling. 

Mikey had been begging her to take him after a kid in his class went but the theme park was hours away and the ticket prices were ridiculously expensive, and Jamie really didn’t have the money to take him. 

“What about the zoo? Neither of us have ever been to the zoo and Mikey loves his animals, right, so I reckon he’ll enjoy it” Jamie said, feeling bad that she also didn’t have any better ideas for where they could go. 

“The zoo! Why didn’t I think of that?” Dani said as a large smile appeared on her face and her eyes started to shine with excitement. 

Dani loved the zoo and she had been wanting to go with Jamie and Mikey for a while now. She had taken her first class to the zoo when she was back in America and they loved it so she guessed Mikey would also love it too.

“Okay it's sorted, we’re going to the zoo!”.

“Good morning, baby” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear after she had rolled over and wrapped her arm around Jamie’s waist. “Happy birthday”.

Jamie groaned but Dani could just make out a wide smile forming on her lips in the dark room. 

Dani peppered Jamie’s face with little kisses as Jamie came around.

“Mornin’” Jamie whispered in her usual husky morning voice that always managed to send a wave of excitement through Dani. 

Dani rolled Jamie on to her back and climbed on top of the sleepy brunette and continued peppering light kisses all over Jamie’s face and neck. In between the kisses, Dani softly sung happy birthday much to the dismay of Jamie who would rather not celebrate or even acknowledge her birthday.

Jamie hated the song and she hated people singing it to her, but the one exception had to be Dani. As Dani sung, Jamie just giggled softly and let Dani cover her in kisses.

“Okay, okay, enough of that now” Jamie said, as Dani came to the end of the song. 

Dani just laughed as she climbed off Jamie and laid next to her. “Happy birthday, baby” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear before giving her cheek a sweet kiss.

“Thanks, Poppins” Jamie said and rolled over on her side and snaked her hand around Dani’s stomach. 

“Wanna go wake Mikey up?” Dani whispered excitedly. She couldn’t wait to see his little face as he opened his presents. 

“In a sec, let me just lay here a minute, wanna enjoy ya” Jamie said as she buried her face into Dani’s neck and squeezed her a tightly. 

“Okay” Dani said laughing softly and intertwining her fingers with Jamie’s that were resting on her stomach.

Dani mimed and counted on her fingers “3, 2, 1” before she and Jamie started to sing Happy Birthday.

They had snuck into the kitchen to get the cake Dani had baked for Mikey last night and put 7 candles in it. They then snuck quietly into Mikey’s room to surprise him.

As soon as the pair started to sing, Mikey’s eyes shot open and he quickly sat up in bed. His wide toothy grin melted Jamie and Dani’s heart as he looked at them and laughed. 

His mouth dropped open when he looked more closely at the 3-tiered zoo themed cake Dani had created last night when he had gone to bed. 

Mikey adored animals and was currently going through an obsession with lions so Dani thought it was fitting to give the cake a zoo themed design since that’s where they were going today and to feature a lion as the main animal. 

Mikey blew out his candles and made a wish before he excitedly shouted, “Cake for breakfast!”.

The three of them then set about cutting the cake in the kitchen and each taking a slice. 

“You made this?” Mikey asked in amazement.

“Yeah” Dani replied smiling brightly as she watched Mikey wolf down his slice of cake in 3 mouth fulls.

Jamie then placed a pile of presents on the table. “These are from me and Dani” Jamie said laughing as she watched Mikey’s eyes grow wide at the sight.

“Oh, hang on, give me a second” Dani said, leaving the table and running into the bedroom.

She came back a few seconds later with two gift bags. “These are from me” Dani said as she handed Jamie a gift bag, “And these,”

“Are from me!” Mikey shouted, finishing Dani’s sentence for her.

“Thanks guys” Jamie said, kissing Mikey on the head and Dani on the lips.

Dani watched excitedly as Jamie and Mikey opened all their presents in front of her.

Mikey was over the moon with his presents. They had got him a new toy car, some art supplies, a new board game to play on game nights and Dani had bought him some books to read to him at bedtime.

“Thank you” Mikey said running to Jamie to wrap his arms around her then he did the same to Dani.

Jamie was also pretty happy with her presents too. Dani had bought her a silver necklace with a small padlock on that had their names engraved on it, a vintage leather jacket and two records. Mikey had gifted her a new mug as he accidentally broke her other one when he was making her a cup of tea one morning, a pair of socks with plants on them which he saw in the store and insisted Dani buy them for Jamie and some drawings he had made for her. 

“So, last present” Jamie said handing Mikey a thin flat present. “It's a clue about where we’re going today”.

Mikey looked at Jamie a little confused but opened the present anyway. He pulled out the t-shirt and held it up to inspect it more closely. Jamie had just recently taken him to the opticians and discovered he needed glasses, so Mikey was still getting used to them, so he often brought things closer to his face when he didn’t need too anymore which made both Jamie and Dani laugh. 

“A lion!” Mikey shouted as he spun the t-shirt around to show the pair. “We’re seeing lions today?”

“We sure are” Jamie said chuckling.

“We’re going to Africa?!” Mikey shouted.

“Maybe try a little closer to home, kiddo, don’t have the money to go to Africa yet, but maybe one day”.

“Erm…” Mikey said as he sat back in his chair to think, “The zoo?”.

“Spot on” Jamie said, holding her hand out to high-five Mikey.

“Oh my God! We’re going to the zoo!” Mikey said standing up then running around the room in excitement. 

Both Jamie and Dani turned to look at each other and smiled widely, knowing today would be a good day. 

An hour later, the three of them climbed into Jamie’s truck and drove to the zoo. The drive was filled with Mikey constantly talking about what they might see, facts about animals and about how excited he was to go to the zoo.

Jamie had spent her whole life more or less in solitude with the obvious exception of Mikey. She didn’t really have any friends, only people she knew, and they were usually co-workers, so she hardly talked to anyone except Mikey. She was a quiet person by nature anyway but as Mikey got older and had moments like this when he wouldn’t stop talking, Jamie found it a little overwhelming if she was being honest with herself and Dani had picked up on this. So, whenever Jamie would start to just nod at Mikey or give him one-word answers when he was having an extremely talkative moment, Dani would redirect the conversation and take over for her which is what she did for the majority of the car journey. Jamie hated the way she felt when Mikey got like that, but it reminded her too much of her childhood surrounded by kids in foster care and one day she would explain that too him, but not yet.

As soon as they arrived at the zoo, Mikey couldn’t contain his excitement, and neither could Dani. Both of them headed off in search of the entrance hand in hand as Jamie followed a few steps behind them, carrying their lunch bags. Dani insisted on paying for Jamie and Mikey as it was her idea to take them out for the day and she knew how expensive the zoo was and didn’t want Jamie incurring any of the costs. 

Money had always been tight for Jamie. Her job at the manor didn’t pay very well and she had very little money left at the end of the month, but she made it work as well as she could. She always made sure Mikey was well fed and washed and had nice clothes to wear. She knew how it felt to be bullied at school for being different and she didn’t want that to happen to Mikey so, she made sure he was no different in appearance than his classmates.

“Elephants!” Mikey shouted as they made their way through the entrance of the zoo and straight in front of them was the elephant enclosure. Mikey started running and dragged Dani along as he went in search of a better view. 

When Jamie finally caught up with the pair, Mikey was sat on the small fence in front of the enclosure with Dani stood directly behind him, so he didn’t fall. “Jamie, look!” Mikey said as she turned around to see Jamie stood behind them, “It's a real-life elephant”. Jamie laughed at Mikey’s comment and snaked her arm around Dani’s waist, “Sure is kiddo, who knew they lived in England”. 

“They don’t, Jamie, they live in Africa. We read a book about it, remember” Mikey said, clearly not understanding Jamie’s joke. 

For the rest of the day, Mikey dragged Jamie and Dani around the zoo, always leading the way to the next animal that he wanted to see. Jamie and Dani couldn’t help but notice the pure joy in his eyes as he walked around the zoo and they both made a silent commitment to themselves to do this more often. 

“Had a nice day?” Jamie asked softly into Dani’s ear as she wrapped her arms around Dani from behind when they were at the last enclosure, the reptile house. 

“Yeah, I have. Have you?” Dani replied as she leant back into Jamie’s embrace. 

“I have actually. Don’t really like doing this type of stuff, like parent child stuff. Always think I’ll be judged by the other parents but, haven’t actually thought about any of that while we’ve been here” Jamie said honestly as she rested her chin on Dani’s shoulder. 

“You’re an amazing parent, you know that don’t you? Who cares what anyone else thinks, Mikey adores you and he’s a wonderful kid, that’s all that matters at the end of the day, right?” Dani said, turning to face Jamie a little so she could look in her eyes but still have Mikey in view to make sure he wasn’t getting up to no good.

“Yeah, suppose. Just always felt a little inferior, a little outta place, y’know. Don’t exactly give off maternal vibes, do I?” Jamie chuckled, but her eyes were reflective and held a hint of sadness.

“Hey,” Dani said, turning around fully now to face Jamie and placing her hands softly on her cheeks, “You belong here as much as anyone does. You’re an outstanding Mom to Mikey and if anything, I’d say you were more maternal than most, you willingly opened your heart and your home to a child you didn’t know and who wasn’t even yours and treated him as if he were. That’s pretty special don’t you think? Not everyone would be able to do that”. Dani’s tone was soft but firm, hoping to get through to Jamie that she was an incredible parent, regardless what anyone else thought. 

Dani could see that Jamie’s eyes were filled with tears and she was trying hard not to let them fall. Dani softly kissed her lips and smiled lovingly at her. Jamie didn’t say anything in response, her eyes said all she wanted to convey, and she was pretty sure Dani understood. 

“What’s next?” a tired Mikey said as he approached Dani and Jamie after watching a snake devour a rat at feeding time. 

“That’s it I think, we’ve seen everything” Dani said as she turned her attention to Mikey. 

Mikey just nodded. They had been at the zoo for hours and all the excitement had drained him. 

“Anything else you want to see before we leave?” Jamie asked.

“Can we see the lions again, please?” 

“Sure we can, come one, want a ride?” Jamie said lovingly, bending down so Mikey could climb on to her back. He nodded and climbed on, wrapping his arms around Jamie’s neck and his legs around her waist.

Once they had seen the lions for a final time, they all headed back to Jamie’s truck. Mikey had climbed on Jamie’s back for the walk back and as they were leaving the zoo, Dani looked over to find Mikey was fast asleep. 

When they got to the truck, Dani carefully picked him up off Jamie’s back as not to disturb him. 

“Mum” Mikey whispered, his eyes still closed, “I’m tired”.

Dani and Jamie both shot around to look at each other. Had they just heard what they think they had heard?

“I know you are, sweetheart” Dani whispered softly whilst rubbing his back, still looking at Jamie a little wide-eyed, “We’re going home now”.

Dani placed Mikey into his car seat and fastened his seatbelt around him then kissed him gently on the head. 

“Mum, ey?” Jamie said as Dani got into the front seat next to her.

“I’m sure he wasn’t talking to me, he’s tired, kids say weird things when their tired” Dani said as she fastened her seatbelt. She liked the way it sounded though, Mikey calling her Mum, but he probably didn’t mean it. 

The rest of the drive was filled with soft music playing on the radio and light snores from both Dani and Mikey. Jamie would look over at them every so often to see if they were alright. She couldn’t help the swell in her heart every time she did. 

As she was driving, Jamie thought about Mikey accidentally calling Dani Mum. Well, she didn’t know if it was accidental or not but either way, she liked it. Jamie had always told Mikey to call her Jamie, not Mum. She didn’t really see it fitting for him to call it her, she was his older sister after all, even if she was the only Mother figure he had, but Dani on the other hand, Dani was his Mum. She cared for him like he was her own, she put him to bed every night, she comforted him when he was ill and most importantly, she loved him unconditionally so why shouldn’t he get to call her Mum?

“Dani” Jamie whispered after she had opened her door, “We’re home, baby. I would carry you in but kinda don’t wanna leave Mikey unattended to get kidnapped”. 

Dani groaned and let out a small chuckle as she sat up straight and stretched before getting out of the truck. “I’ll get the bags” Dani said as Jamie picked Mikey up. 

As Jamie was walking in their front door, Mikey opened his eyes a little and look at Jamie. “You okay, buddy?” Jamie asked softly.

Mikey nodded then looked around, his eye lids still partly closed and his body still in sleep mode. “Where’s Mum?” he said groggily and leaning his head back on Jamie’s shoulder. 

“She’s right behind us, kiddo” Jamie said softly, as a wide smile spread across her face at the sound of Mikey calling Dani Mum again.

A few seconds later, Dani entered the apartment with all their bags and placed them on the sofa so they could deal with them tomorrow.

“Think he wants ya” Jamie said smiling widely at Dani who was unaware of what Mikey had just referred to her as. 

Jamie handed Mikey to Dani who took him then sat of the sofa as she couldn’t stand for too long holding him, he was getting pretty heavy now and her small arms didn’t have the strength to hold him. 

“Hey sweetheart, you wanted me?” Dani whispered softly into Mikey’s ear. 

Mikey nodded, still slipping in and out of sleep. His arms wrapped themselves tightly around her neck and he laid his head on her shoulder. “Mum, can we go to bed, I'm so tired” Mikey said in his groggy sleeping voice.

Dani’s heart rapidly started beating as she heard what Mikey had called her. At the zoo it may have just been a mistake but this time there was no mistaking what he had meant. 

Dani looked round the room for Jamie and she saw her stood grinning over at her. 

“He called it ya before when we came up stairs” Jamie said, her grin was big and goofy as she couldn’t hold in her happiness.

Dani didn’t really know what to say, I mean she loved the idea of Mikey calling her Mum but what about Jamie? Dani had only been in his life for a year, Jamie had been in his life for a lot longer, shouldn’t she be the one who he got to call Mum?

“Course we can” Dani said softly and standing up from the sofa. She took Mikey to his bedroom and laid him in bed. She took his shoes off and coat then wrapped the duvet around him and tucked him in. Jamie joined her in Mikey’s bedroom and kissed him good night after Dani had tucked him in. 

“I love you” Mikey said to Dani as she kissed his forehead. 

Dani smiled lovingly at Mikey and whispered, “I love you too, sweetheart, now get some sleep, baby. I hope you had a great birthday”.

“You’re not mad?” Dani said, a little taken aback.

“Course I'm not mad, Dani. In fact, I think it's the best thing that’s ever happened” Jamie replied back with a huge grin on her face.

“Really?” Dani whispered.

“Dani,” Jamie stated simply, placing her hands on Dani’s cheeks softly, “Really. He knows I want to be called Jamie and he’s happy with that, that doesn’t make me any less of his Mother does it?”.

Dani shook her head, “But I-”.

“No buts, he can call you Mum if he wants. I’m his sister, that’s why he calls me Jamie and that’s why I’ve asked him to call me Jamie. Him calling me Mum seems a little weird if I'm being honest, but him calling you Mum, I think it makes perfect sense. Nothing has ever sounded more right in the whole world”.

Dani welled up as Jamie spoke. There is nothing she would love more than for Mikey to call her Mum and honestly it did feel right, she just didn’t want Jamie to feel left out.

Jamie wiped away the few tears that fell from Dani’s eyes with her thumbs before kissing Dani lovingly on the lips. 

“I love you so much” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips, “And I love being a part of this family”.

Jamie smiled softly at Dani then reconnected their lips, “I love you too, baby, and I love our little family”.


	13. Valentine's Day

[Mature Content]

Today was Valentine’s Day. Last year Jamie and Dani had skipped the holiday as they hadn’t been seeing each other for very long plus, Jamie had agreed to let one of Mikey’s friends have a sleep over as his parents were going out that night and they needed someone to look after him. Neither Jamie or Dani were upset about missing the supposedly special day as they had met each other two days later to go out for dinner together. However, since they had skipped Valentine’s Day the year before, Jamie had decided to make a big fuss this year and had lots planned for the day.

Jamie had woken up early that morning and crept into the kitchen to make Dani breakfast. Luckily, Valentine’s Day had fallen on a Saturday so neither of them had to be at work. Jamie had been practicing making pancakes for a week prior without Dani noticing as she had never made the American breakfast classic before, so she thought she’d better at least try and make them well. As a Brit, Jamie was used to making pancakes on Pancake Day with Mikey but apparently, those were more like crepes that she had been making and not pancakes, pancakes were a whole different thing apparently. Jamie had even searched high and low for maple syrup to go on the pancakes and had luckily found some a few days ago in a supermarket 4 towns over. 

Jamie smiled to herself as she observed the plate of heart-shaped pancakes with bacon on top and maple syrup dripping down the sides. “Doesn’t look too bad does it, Jamie?” she said to herself before quietly walking back into their bedroom as she was excited to show Dani her creation.

Luckily Dani was still asleep and was non the wiser about what Jamie had been up to in the kitchen. Jamie couldn’t help the smile that tugged on her lips as she silently observed Dani peacefully sleeping. Her mouth was wide open and every so often, small snores would fill the otherwise silent room. Part of her didn’t want to disturb Dani but she had lovingly made a large stack of pancakes and really didn’t want them to go to waste.

“Dani” Jamie whispered as she rested a hand on Dani’s stomach and gave her body a gentle shake.

Dani slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at Jamie, “Good morning, baby” Dani whispered, her voice soft and filled with sleep.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Poppins” Jamie said as she brought the stack of pancakes into Dani’s view.

“Oh my” Dani said as she giggled and sat herself up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, “Did you make these yourself?”.

“Sure did” Jamie said smiling proudly, “Even bought ya maple syrup”.

“No way!” Dani said laughing as she had had a very hard time trying to find some in Bly.

“Here” Jamie said placing the plate on Dani’s lap and handing her a knife and folk.

Dani quickly got to work eating the pancakes which were surprisingly really good given that Jamie wasn’t the best cook in the world. For every mouthful Dani had, she gave one to Jamie, making sure that she got to enjoy her creation too.

“So, what do you have planned for us today?” Dani asked as Jamie delicately played with her hair.

The pancakes had long been eaten and the plate had been discarded on the floor. The pair were now wrapped up under the duvet with Dani’s head resting on Jamie’s chest.

Dani had let Jamie plan their Valentine’s Day as Jamie had seemed keen to celebrate the day and Dani didn’t want any plans that she may have made to clash with any of Jamie’s plans so, she had let her take the reins and plan their day.

“Well, first thing on the list was breakfast in bed which I think I pulled off” Jamie said, letting a small chuckle fall from her lips.

“Wait you’ve made a list?” Dani laughed, “That sounds like something I’d do”.

“What can I say, you’re a bad influence on me, Miss Clayton” Jamie replied back cheekily with a small smirk.

A wide smile appeared on Dani’s lips as she looked up at Jamie for a second who had a smile on her lips equally as wide. Her heart couldn’t help but flutter every time Jamie looked into her eyes.

“What’s next?” Dani asked as she laid her head back onto Jamie’s chest.

“Next on the list was cuddling”

“No, it wasn’t” Dani said giggling.

“Yes, it was” Jamie said chuckling as she recalled her list.

“Okay, whatever you say. What’s next? I think we have already ticked off cuddling” Dani said smiling and tightening her arms around Jamie.

“Next thing is to relax. I’ve left it up for interpretation a little but basically, whatever you want to do to de-stress. I know you’ve been so busy at work recently so I thought you could just relax today. I could run you a bath, maybe or I could give ya a little massage or we could take a walk, whatever you want”.

Dani’s heart swelled at Jamie’s proposal; she couldn’t believe how she’d got so lucky. Jamie was so kind and caring and attentive that sometimes Dani’s eyes would just fill with happy tears. No one had ever treated her like Jamie did and sometimes it was so overwhelming that she had to remind herself that she was worthy of Jamie’s affection.

“I love you so much, Jamie” Dani said as she moved from Jamie’s chest so she could lay her head on the pillow next to Jamie’s. 

“I love you too, baby” Jamie said softly against Dani’s lips before kissing her slowly. 

Small soft moans fell from Dani’s lips as Jamie kissed her passionately. The kiss was slow and loving and said everything neither of them could. 

Dani pressed herself closer into Jamie’s body as her hands found their way into the mess of soft curls on Jamie’s head. Dani’s hips slowly began rocking against Jamie’s body as a dull ache started to build between her legs.

“That’s number four on the list” Jamie whispered as she pulled away from Dani’s lips for a second, “so, maybe save it for later when Mikey’s at Judo? Got a few things planned that might make it hard for ya to be quiet, but if ya can't wait…”.

Jamie words did nothing to stop the ache between Dani’s legs, they only increased it. Dani let out a soft groan as Jamie placed her hand on her hip to stop her search for a little friction.

“No, I can wait” Dani whispered, trying to assure herself rather than Jamie. 

“Good girl” Jamie whispered back, knowing exactly what her words would do to the blonde.

A soft moan left Dani’s mouth as she heard Jamie’s words and her eyes instinctively fluttered closed. She really couldn’t wait but she knew it would be worth it.

Jamie ran Dani a bath before waking Mikey up and making him some breakfast. Once Dani had a bath, she took Jamie up on her offer of a massage. Jamie had only given Dani a massage a handful of times since they had been together and she really had no idea what to do but Dani didn’t really care, she just loved the way Jamie’s hands felt as they ran up and down her back. Jamie was careful not to make things too sexual and cause Dani’s frustrations to increase but it was hard to be straddling a topless Dani and not let your desires show. But when Jamie had finished her massage, the ache between her legs had all but faded and she had felt more relaxed than she had done in ages. She was an anxious person by nature, but her muscles were no longer tense, and she felt so light that she was scared she might float away. 

The rest of the day slowly passed by with Jamie waiting hand and foot on Dani. Anything she needed, Jamie would be more than willing to go and get for her. Jamie, Dani and Mikey spent the morning curled up on the couch watching a film together and eating popcorn before Mikey had to go to Judo practice.

Dani left their apartment at 13:45 to walk Mikey to Judo. Dani always took Mikey to his Judo practice now and Dani had insisted that she take him today too and Jamie was glad as it fitted into her plan for the day perfectly.

When Dani arrived back at their apartment, she put the key into the lock and opened the door but as she did, she noticed a trail of rose petals on the floor. Dani’s eyebrows furrowed for a second as she took in the sight and then a small smile apeared on her lips. She shut the door quickly and locked it before quickly taking off her jacket and shoes so she could follow the trail. Dani had a good idea where the trail would take her, but she followed it anyway and it lead her straight to their bedroom as she had suspected. Dani pushed the door open slightly and peered around the door. She pushed the door open wider when she saw the path of petals continued to the bed and candles lit around the room. As she walked closer, she saw the remainder of the petals formed a heart on top of their duvet cover and in the middle of the heart was a glass jar filled with what looked like pieces of paper. Dani reached forward and picked up the jar to open it. When she did, she picked out one of the slips of paper and read it.

‘I love the sound of your laugh’ the piece of paper said, the writing neat and handwritten.

Dani reached into the jar again to retrieve another slip. ‘I love the way you never let us go to bed angry at each other after a fight’. 

A small smile appeared on Dani’s lips and her heart swelled as she began to understand what was happening. She eagerly pulled out another slip of paper. ‘I love how you read Mikey a bedtime story every night and still act it out even when he’s fallen asleep’.

“Wasn’t really sure when to give em ya but, I thought now might be a good time” Jamie said, suddenly appearing in the bedroom. Her voice suddenly breaking the silence caused Dani to jump slightly and look towards where Jamie’s voice had come from.

“I know I’m not great with words or with talking about me feelings, but I thought this was a way of telling ya how I feel about ya” Jamie said, slowly walking towards Dani as she played with her fingers nervously. “Some are a bit cringy, I know but I thought you could look at em when ya feeling a bit low are something and I could add to them over time maybe”.

“Jamie” Dani said softly, “I don’t know what to say, I love it, I really do, thank you so much”. Dani closed the small gap between her and Jamie and wrapped her arms around the brunette as she tried to convey how much the simple gesture meant to her. 

“Glad ya like it. Didn’t know if it was too cheesy or not” Jamie said chuckling as she held Dani close to her.

“It’s not cheesy” Dani said, smiling brightly at Jamie, “It’s romantic. But even if it was cheesy, I like cheesy”.

Jamie laughed softly then placed a loving kiss on Dani’s lips. “I know ya like cheesy because you adore that little teddy bear I won for ya that’s holding an ‘I love you’ banner. Pretty sure you can't sleep without it now”. 

Dani giggled and looked down at the floor for a second in embarrassment. “But it’s so cute and plus you won it for me at the fair so I may have gotten a little attached to it”.

“You’re so cute, Dani Clayton” Jamie whispered as she rubbed their noses together for a moment before connecting their lips.

The kiss started off slow and loving but gradually turned heated as Dani remembered what Jamie had whispered into her ear that morning. 

As they were kissing, Dani tugged Jamie by the t-shirt, leading them to the bed. When the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed, she lowered herself down and brought Jamie with her too. When Jamie climbed on top of her and placed her thighs on either side of her body, Dani began tugging at Jamie’s t-shirt once more to signal that she wanted to take it off. As she did so, Jamie pulled away slightly.

“Poppins, if you don’t mind, I kinda wanted to maybe take things slow, if that’s alright with you?”. Jamie’s voice was quiet and held a trace of nervousness as she asked Dani for her request.

“That’s fine with me” Dani said softly, lessening her grip on Jamie’s t-shirt.

“I just want it to be romantic is all, I wanna take care of ya on our first Valentine’s Day together, I don’t want rush it” Jamie said softly as she placed gentle kisses on Dani’s lips as she spoke.

“You’re so adorable” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips, “I love you so much”.

“I love you too, baby” Jamie said before connecting their lips again but making the kiss slow and gentle.

Jamie and Dani moved so that Dani’s head was resting on the pillows at the top of the bed and Jamie was straddling her. Their kisses remained slow and loving as their hands caressed the others body.

“Do we have to have so many layers between us?” Dani asked chuckling as she was getting a little desperate to feel Jamie’s skin on her own.

Jamie laughed softly before sitting up and taking her t-shirt off.

Dani smiled widely as she watched the brunette reveal her soft pale abdomen for what had to be at least the hundredth time since they had met but it never got any less exciting every time she did it. 

“You’re so beautiful” Dani whispered as she sat herself up a little and kissed Jamie’s stomach and chest. “And your freckles and moles, God I love them so much” Dani said as she ran her thumb and lips over some of the marks on Jamie’s skin.

Dani’s hands then ran behind Jamie’s back and unclasped her bra and let it fall down her arms before Jamie threw it onto the floor at the side of them. Dani then placed a few gentle kisses on Jamie’s breast before taking one of her nipples in her mouth and massaging the other with her hand.

Dani’s simple actions caused Jamie to throw her head back and close her eyes as she let out soft quiet moans.

After a few moments, Jamie leant forward and helped Dani out of her jumper and her bra before gently pushing Dani back down onto the bed by her shoulders. 

“I wanna make you feel good first” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear as she took her earlobe between her teeth.

Dani only moaned softly in response to Jamie and wrapped her arms around her back to press Jamie closer to her.

Jamie spent as long as she possibly could kissing and caressing Dani’s body before Dani was practically begging for some type of friction so, she unbuttoned Dani’s jeans and slid them down her legs before throwing them onto the floor. As she did so, she could see Dani’s panties were already soaked through. Jamie positioned herself between Dani’s legs and began placing soft, delicate kisses on her newly exposed legs. Jamie started her kissing on Dani’s ankle and kissed her way up until she reached the top of her thigh. Just as Dani thought the burning ache between her legs was going to be satisfied, Jamie placed a small kiss on the ankle of her other leg and proceeded kissing up its length.

Jamie didn’t necessarily mean to tease Dani, she just wanted to take her time and show Dani how much she adored her. When her lips finally placed their last kiss on the top of Dani’s thigh, Jamie placed a soft kiss on the hem of Dani’s panties. As she did so, Dani let out a soft moan and her legs instinctively opened wider to allow Jamie more access.

Jamie hooked her fingers under the elastic of Dani’s panties then pulled them down her legs slowly. 

“Dani, you’re so beautiful, baby” Jamie whispered as she took in the sight of the now naked Dani.

Dani sat up and said, “We’re a little unequal here, can you take these off?”

Jamie did exactly what Dani had requested and took off her jeans and panties and threw them on the floor. 

“Better?” Jamie whispered as she climbed on top of Dani to give her a kiss on the lips.

“Much” Dani stated simply with a wide smile. She loved to feel Jamie’s skin on hers, especially Jamie’s legs as they intertwined them.

Suddenly a thought crossed Dani’s mind and she pulled Jamie back by her arm as she was making her way down Dani’s body.

“Can I, erm, can I, you know, on top of you?” Dani asked nervously, not wanting to ruin whatever Jamie had in mind.

Jamie laughed softly as she listened to Dani nervously stumble over her words. “Lost the ability to form a sentence?”.

Dani giggled shyly and bowed her head so Jamie couldn’t make eye contact with her.

“It’s okay, tell me what you want, baby. Y’know I find it hot when ya tell me what you want” Jamie said reassuringly, lifting Dani’s chin with her finger so she could look at her.

Dani smiled shyly before pulling Jamie closer and whispering in her ear, “Can I sit on your face?”.

Jamie smirked as she knew Dani loved the position, but she didn’t really know why Dani was so nervous to ask her if she could do it.

Jamie quickly flipped her and Dani over then watched with a small smirk as Dani made her way up her body and placed her thighs on either side of Jamie’s head.

Jamie placed her hands on Dani’s hips softly and brought her down onto her face.

Dani let out soft moans as Jamie’s tongue and mouth began to get to work. 

A few seconds later, the contact stopped as Jamie said, “Don’t forget, baby, be as loud as ya want, y’know it turns me on”.

Dani giggled as she realised they had the apartment all to themselves, so she didn’t have to hold anything back and then she let out a load startled moan as Jamie’s tongue began its movements again. 

It wasn’t long before Dani was gripping the headboard tightly and moaning Jamie’s name loudly as she came undone. 

Dani collapsed on the bed at the side of Jamie and rested her head on her chest. Both women were heaving and trying to slow their breathing back to normal.

“Good?” Jamie asked as she wrapped her arm around Dani and pulled her in closer to her. 

“So good” Dani replied giggling a little.

After a few moments, Dani kissed Jamie’s lips hard and quickly ran her tongue over Jamie’s bottom lip to seek entrance which Jamie immediately granted. 

Their kisses quickly became hot and full of desire. Jamie’s hands slipped between Dani’s legs and her fingers were met with a pool of new warm wetness.

“Ready for round 2?” Jamie asked, chuckling as her fingers ran through wet folds and made their way to Dani’s centre.

“What about you?” Dani whispered though her breathy moans.

“We’ve got plenty of time, baby, don’t worry, we’ll get to me, right now I just care about making you feel good” Jamie whispered as she pressed harder onto Dani’s clit causing the blonde to wrap her legs around her hip and pull Jamie closer.

Just as Jamie was adding a second finger, her phone started to ring. Dani pulled her head away from where it was resting on Jamie’s shoulder to look at the brunette.

“Just ignore it, probably a scam caller” Jamie said continuing her pace in and out of Dani. 

Dani just moaned loudly, and her head fell back to its previous position as her second orgasm was nearing. 

A few seconds after Jamie’s phone stopped ringing, it started again and both women groaned. 

Jamie didn’t stop her in and out motions with her fingers as she reached over to the nightstand and picked up her phone and answered it.

“Hello” she said in an unimpressed tone.

Whatever Jamie heard on the other end of the phone caused her fingers to quickly pull out of Dani and stop their movements. At the sudden loss of contact, Dani pulled her head back to look at Jamie whose face was now pale, and her eyes were wide in shock.

Jamie untangled herself from Dani’s limbs and stood up as she listened intently to the phone call. 

“Okay, we’ll be right there” Jamie said as she hung up the phone and quickly scanned the room for her clothing.

“What’s wrong?” Dani asked, her voice full of concern as she quickly moved from the bed to pick up her clothes as Jamie was doing the same.

“It’s Mikey, he’s hurt his arm at Judo, they think he’s broken it” Jamie said stopping what she was doing and looking at Dani with wide eyes.

Dani could see tears forming in Jamie’s worried eyes and held back her own as she went to comfort her. “Hey, it’s okay” Dani whispered reassuringly as she stroked Jamie’s cheek with her thumb, “He’s going to be fine, okay?”. Dani had no idea if that was true but that’s all she could think of to say that might calm Jamie down a little.

Jamie just nodded slowly and took hold of Dani’s hand and squeezed it. 

They arrived at Mikey’s Judo studio 10 minutes later and drove him straight to the hospital. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart” Dani kept whispering to Mikey as he sat on her knee in the waiting room of A&E. He was sat across her lap with his head resting in the crook of her neck as he sobbed loudly from the pain. Jamie had one hand on his knee rubbing it softly in hopes of trying to calm him down a little and her other arm was draped around Dani’s shoulders and she held her close. 

“Didn’t think this was how are Valentine’s Day would end” Jamie chuckled as she whispered into Dani’s ear.

Dani laughed softly, knowing Jamie was trying to lighten the mood a little, “Yeah I know, who would have thought”.

Jamie looked down at her watch before her eyes returned to Dani, “Guess we’ll miss our dinner reservation”.

“What do you mean?” Dani asked, as Jamie had hidden the last surprise from her.

“Booked us a table at that little Italian place you like. Mikey was supposed to have dinner at his friend’s house tonight so we could go out”

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” Dani said giggling as she lovingly placed a soft kiss on Jamie’s cheek, “There will be other nights, I’m sure”.

“Yeah, there will be” Jamie whispered as she kissed Dani’s shoulder. 

The rest of their evening was spent at the hospital as the doctors and nurses sorted Mikey’s arm out. Luckily it was a clean break so he didn’t need any further treatment, just a cast which Dani had promised she would help Mikey decorate.

When they finally got back home, all three of them were starving so ordered pizza. Mikey didn’t leave Dani’s side all night, even when he was eating pizza. He just sat on her lap like he had done at the hospital and he rested his head on her shoulder as he ate.

When they all went to bed, Mikey gave his best puppy dog eyes and asked if he could sleep in their bed that night and they both agreed he could. He cried a little as the pain killers were starting to wear off, but he soon fell asleep as Dani read him a bedtime story.

“Sorry my plan got changed a little” Jamie whispered quietly as not to wake Mikey.

Jamie and Dani were laid on their sides facing each other with Mikey laid between them fast asleep.

“You don’t have to apologise, these things happen” Dani whispered back as she smiled down at Mikey who was wearing his spiderman PJs with one arm cut off at the elbow to accommodate his cast. “Plus, I really enjoyed how things turned out, I mean minus the whole broken arm thing obviously, but I mean all of us having pizza together on the sofa and cuddling”.

“Yeah, me too, pizza probably woulda been better at the Italian place but I'm just glad he’s alright” Jamie said before kissing Mikey softly on the forehead, “Gave me a good scare there for a second”.

“Me too, but he’s a tough kid, not much phases him, does it?” Dani whispered as she took hold of Jamie’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

“So glad you were there though, I really don’t think me or Mikey would have been as calm if you wasn’t” Jamie said honestly and kissed the back of Dani’s hand that she was holding. 

“I’m sure you would have been fine but I'm glad I was there too”.

“I love you so much Dani Clayton, I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much” Jamie whispered as she pressed their foreheads together and inhaled a shaky breath.

“I love you so much too baby and I think I understand, if it's anywhere near how much I love you and Mikey then I think I understand” Dani said smiling lovingly at Jamie as she connected their lips lovingly.


	14. Parent's Evening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others, I have been really busy with exams recently but I hope you still enjoy it! :)

The school year had flown by and before Dani and Mikey knew it, their school year was almost over. The last big event of the year for both of them was Parents Evening. 

Last year Jamie skipped the uncomfortably formal event in exchange for sitting on Dani’s couch with a cup of tea as Dani explained to her in great depth how Mikey had been doing since she had started teaching him. Unfortunately, this year, Jamie didn’t have the privilege of skipping the event as Dani was no longer Mikey’s teacher so she would have to begrudgingly attend. Jamie had always hated the event and she would try to keep the conversation as short so she could leave as possible and go home.

Dani on the other hand loved Parent’s Evening. It gave her a chance to properly meet and talk with her students’ parents as she would never really get the chance to at the school gates. She would explain how each child was progressing in as much detail as possible and then she would always ask the parents if they had any concerns or thoughts about how she could improve her teaching. She loved getting feedback but usually parents would just brush the question off and tell her that her teaching was fine or that their kid loved how she taught. Dani wanted each meeting to be as interactive as possible but would always find that they would usually just be a one-sided conversation on her part with little response from the parents. She understood that not every parent liked the event, and she would always get a little disheartened when she didn’t get a chance to go through the individual folders she would make for each child or when parent’s didn’t engage with her much. Dani thought it seemed odd why parents wouldn’t want to discuss their child’s progress and ensure that their child was getting the best possible education they could receive, but she guessed that she would never truly know.

Dani wished that each Parent’s Evening meeting would go as well as the one she had with Jamie last year. Dani talked about Mikey and showed Jamie the folder she had made with evidence of his progress in, then Jamie asked lots of questions and she seemed genuinely interested in the conversation and what she could do to help Mikey at home. Dani wasn’t sure if Jamie had just asked her loads of questions to prolong the amount of time she got to spend with her, but as Dani got to know more about Jamie, she knew Jamie asked those questions as she genuinely wanted to know how she could help Mikey when he wasn’t at school.

Jamie had always felt uncomfortable at Parent’s Evenings as she didn’t truly feel like a parent. She was just Mikey’s older sister who just so happened to take care of him. School had never felt like a safe place for Jamie when she attended, so it had never felt like a comfortable place to be when she would attend things with Mikey now. She was scared of the judgement she would receive from the teachers and the other parents so, she would always make sure to keep the conversation short and get out before anyone had the chance to say anything to her that would hurt her. That’s why she felt so comfortable when she had the meeting with Dani last year. She was away from the school environment and she was with someone who she knew wouldn’t judge her. She felt so safe to ask everything that she had been too afraid to ask in the past, so the meeting lasted almost an hour.

Mikey brought the usual Parent’s Evening letter home and pulled it out of his school bag so he could hang it on the fridge where Jamie would see it.

“Ugh, that time of year again?” Jamie huffed as she walked over to Mikey who was on his tiptoes trying to reach a magnet on the fridge door. “Give it ‘ere before I forget to fill it in” Jamie said as Mikey turned around to show her the letter.

“Are you going?” Mikey asked as he looked up at Jamie who was reading the letter carefully. 

“Suppose I have to. Gotta make sure ya behaving yourself, for all I know ya could be telling me fibs” Jamie teased as she carried on reading the text.

“I don’t tell fibs!” Mikey protested, “I’m a good boy at school, ask anyone”. 

“I know you are but gotta check for meself haven’t I?” Jamie replied, continuing to tease Mikey just to keep him on his toes. That was her job after all.

Mikey just raised his eyebrows in response and headed to his room to change out of his school uniform whilst Jamie scribbled a time on the sheet and put in back in his school bag so she could forget about the dreaded upcoming event as quickly as possible.

The next morning whilst Jamie, Dani and Mikey sat in the truck on their way to school, Jamie said over her shoulder to Mikey, “Don’t forget to give ya teacher the Parent’s Evening slip, I put it in ya bag last night”.

Mikey replied “Okay” before rummaging through his bag to find the piece of paper so he could hand it in before he forgot. “You put down 4 o’clock, Jamie” Mikey stated as he read the slip in his hands.

“Yeah” Jamie replied, a little confused as to why Mikey cared about what time she had put down.

“But Mum won't be able to come” Mikey said, a frown appearing on his face.

Jamie stopped her tapping on the steering wheel as she processed Mikey’s words. It was true, Dani would be conducting her own Parent’s Evening so she wouldn’t be able to join her at the meeting if it was at that time. But Jamie hadn’t even given that a thought. She didn’t even think to ask whether Dani would want to attend Mikey’s Parent’s Evening or not, she just hastily scribbled a time on the slip out of habit. It made sense that both of them should attend as they were technically his parents now but asking Dani if she wanted to attend Mikey’s Parent’s Evening with her felt like a significant step in their relationship for some reason. 

“Shit, I didn’t even give that a thought” Jamie said as she turned to Dani, “Do you wanna go?” she continued, slightly hesitant of what Dani’s answer would be.

“Pleeeease” Mikey said from the back seat.

Dani giggled, “I mean if you both want me to go, I’d love to”.

“Yesss!” Mikey shouted from the back seat and both Jamie and Dani giggled as he did so. Mikey had just assumed both Dani and Jamie would attend since they were his parents, and he didn’t want one to go without the other.

“Well, it’s settled then” Jamie said, her sudden increase in heart rate when she had asked Dani if she had wanted to attend Mikey’s Parent’s Evening together had dramatically slowed down and her breathing was back to normal.

“Maybe I could save my last spot so I finish early, and we could go then?” Dani suggested. Her heart fluttered at the thought of Mikey wanting her to attend his Parent’s Evening meeting. She knew it was just a simple request and it probably didn’t mean anything, but it felt monumental at the same time as it meant Mikey saw her as his parent or at least somewhere near equivalent to a parent.

“You sure you don’t mind coming, I mean it’s not the most exciting thing on the plant, is it?” Jamie asked as she walked Dani and Mikey to the school gates. 

“Yeah, I’d love to go actually, as long as you don’t mind me going, I wouldn’t want to overstep or anything” Dani said, not wanting to make Jamie feel as if she was pushing her out or anything.

“Course I don’t mind, and how many times have I got to say it, Dani you could never overstep. It kinda makes sense though that we both go doesn’t it? Sorry I didn’t ask, I’m just so used to going on my own, I forgot that you might want to come” Jamie said honestly as she ran her thumb softly over the back of Dani’s hand a few times.

“Don’t worry about it” Dani said as she stopped at the gates and kissed Jamie’s lips, “I get you’re used to doing everything on your own, but now there’s two of us so if you ever want some company to these kinds of things, I’m always happy to go with you”.

Jamie chuckled and smiled widely at Dani’s comment. She loved having Dani by her side, especially at kid related things as she made her feel much more confident and self-assured. It also made her feel like they were like every other family out there. Not that it mattered that they were like every other family, but Jamie had never had a ‘normal’ family growing up and she really wanted Mikey to experience what she never had. 

“Also, it does kinda make sense that we both go” Dani said kissing Jamie again and smiling widely. It was early in the morning and parents weren’t due for drop off for another 30 minutes so there was no one around which meant Dani could kiss Jamie all she wanted.

“I mean he calls ya Mum so” Jamie said chuckling and returning the kiss.

“So, I’ll save my last spot then and we can go together?” Dani asked as she pulled away from Jamie’s lips.

“Yeah, sounds good” Jamie said softly as she placed another delicate kiss on Dani’s lips before walking back down the path. When she reached her truck, she waved goodbye to Dani and Mikey who were both stood in the doorway waving back at her grinning. 

Jamie and Mikey were sat next to each other on the row of kid-sized chairs outside his classroom waiting for their appointment. Jamie’s palms were sticky with sweat, so she kept wiping them on her jeans as she sat in silence whilst Mikey was chatting with his friend sat next to him.

Jamie couldn’t help but always feel nervous when she attended school functions. She knew her and Mikey’s situations was somewhat unconventional, and she knew the other parents judged them for it. She was only young when she became Mikey’s legal guardian and had no parenting experience whatsoever, but she had tried her best and still does. She has always done everything she can for Mikey to give him the best life possible and it pissed her off that other people couldn’t see that. Mikey had turned out just as well, if not better than the majority of the kids in his class so Jamie didn’t really understand why the parents singled her out.

Just when Jamie was getting in her own head a little too much, she heard Mikey slide off his chair and run to Dani shouting “Mum!”. 

Jamie looked up and smiled widely as she watched Dani bend down and hug him tightly before kissing his head.

“I missed you so much, sweetheart. How was your day?” Dani said as she took his hand and went to sit down next to Jamie.

The other parents who were sat on the row of chairs waiting for their appointments too all looked at each other, trying to understand the situation and why Mikey had called his teacher from last year Mum.

This was Jamie and Dani’s unofficial first appearance as a couple at the school. They had never attended an event together as a family before and if Jamie was being honest, she was extra nervous as a result. She had heard a little gossiping from the parents last year as to why she was always in Dani’s classroom but that had all stopped once the school year had ended. However, the people of Bly loved to gossip so it wasn’t long before to town put two and two together about Jamie and Dani dating when they would see them out and about together. The gossip didn’t necessarily bother them and they kept themselves to themselves mostly and carried on with their lives, but this was their first time attending a school event as a family unit and they knew there would be gossip as a result tomorrow.

“Hey” Dani whispered as she sat down next to Jamie and sat Mikey on her knee.

“Cats out the bag I guess” Jamie whispered as she motioned towards the line of parents sat next to them.

“I mean it’s nothing they don’t already know, is it?” Dani said as she placed a comforting hand on Jamie’s thigh. 

“Suppose, but I don’t think they knew how serious we actually were” Jamie said as she let out a slight chuckle.

“Well, they do now” Dani whispered back then pecked Jamie’s cheek.

Jamie and Dani sat making light conversation whilst they waited for each set of parents to have their meeting and leave. Mikey’s teacher was running a little behind, so they had to wait longer than they had expected to but when it was finally their turn, they walked confidently into the classroom together hand in hand and sat down ready to listen to Mikey’s teacher talk about his progress.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight” Jamie whispered into Dani’s ear as she stood behind her with her arms around her waist as Dani washed the dishes. 

“It’s no problem, I enjoyed it” Dani said honestly as she leant some of her weight onto Jamie’s front.

“Sorry I didn’t ask ya, I honestly didn’t even give it a thought that we should do these things together now, I’m just so used to going on me own” Jamie said before placing a few soft kisses on Dani’s shoulder and neck.

“It’s fine, there’s no need to apologise baby, I understand. I’m so glad that I got to go though, I felt like a real parent you know?” Dani said smiling widely and turning to face Jamie.

“You are a real parent” Jamie replied as she moved her and Dani to the slide a little so she could pick Dani up and sit her on the kitchen counter.

“I know but like, going to Parent’s Evening, it just feels like a big deal for some reason. And both of you wanting me to go felt like an even bigger deal” Dani said as she put down the towel she was holding in her hands so she could wrap her arms around Jamie’s neck and pull her closer whilst she was kissing her neck.

“You know you’re always welcome to anything we do. We’re a family and we do things together and we always want you with us, you know that right?” Jamie said as she pulled away from Dani’s neck for a moment to look her in the eyes. 

“Yeah, I know” Dani said smiling widely. She knew Jamie and Mikey always wanted her to join them, but she still sometimes felt as if she should give them a little space too, just in case they were sick of her.

“If you ever wanna join us at anything just say so, I’m still getting used to this whole two parent thing so I'm sorry if I’ve just gone and done something without asking you, like Parent’s Evening, I really didn’t mean to leave you out” Jamie said seriously feeling a little guilty that she would have deprived the both of them of such a big step in their relationship if it hadn’t been for Mikey bringing it up. As she spoke, Jamie took hold of Dani’s hands and placed soft kisses on her knuckles.

“I’ve told you, no need to apologise, I get it, I really do. If you’re so insistent on making sure you don’t miss me out again, how about we have a family calendar or something?”

Jamie laughed loudly and snorted a little, “Like the Mum’s who think that they are too good and look down on everyone else?”.

“Yeah, exactly like them” Dani said giggling, “If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us, right?”

Jamie laughed softly and kissed Dani’s lips. She was glad Dani had lifted the mood a little but it didn’t stop her from still feeling guilty, but she knew Dani had forgiven her. “If it means not missing you out again, think I can put up with a family calendar”.

“I love you so much” Dani said smiling as she pulled Jamie closer into her so she could kiss her lips.

“I love you too, baby” Jamie said smirking and returned her lips to Dani’s neck.


	15. Hometown Visit (Part 1)

It had taken Dani a very long time to convince Jamie that they should all go to visit Dani’s hometown. 

It had been just over a year and a half since Dani had moved to England and so much had changed for her in that time. She had arrived in England not knowing anyone, not having anywhere to live or even any idea who she truly was but in just a short amount of time, she had built an incredible life for herself. She had a great job which she enjoyed so much, she had made a home with a family of her own who she adored and most importantly, she was discovering her true self. Dani loved the idea of taking her family back to her hometown where she grew up and showing them around and even getting them to meet some of the people that she had left behind.

However, Jamie was apprehensive. She loved the idea of going to visit Dani’s hometown and having her show her and Mikey around, but it was insanely expensive to travel. Jamie couldn’t even afford a week’s holiday in Benidorm, let alone Iowa. 

Dani had suggested the idea around Christmas time just to put the thought in Jamie’s mind as she knew that Jamie would take some convincing. Dani had suggested that they each put some money away every month just in case and if they didn’t end up going, then they would have a nice little sum of money to do with what they pleased. 

Jamie had always struggled to save up money as her wage packet every month seemed to disappear before it had even arrived but now with both her and Dani living together, Dani was paying half of all the expenses every month, so it had gotten much easier to save up. Jamie was pleasantly surprised by just how fast the little sum of money was growing and she had started to feel a little less apprehensive about the cost of traveling as she saw the figure increase month by month. 

Dani had brought up the idea every so often just to keep the idea in Jamie’s mind, but she had never pressured her to seriously consider the idea. Although Dani would love to visit some of her family and friends and show Jamie and Mikey her hometown, she knew it was incredibly expensive and very unlikely to happen, but she could dream. 

At the end of July, Jamie and Dani sat down together on the sofa and began to look at how much everything would cost if they were to ‘hypothetically’ go to Iowa. 

Jamie had come around to the idea on her own without much persuasion from Dani. Jamie knew how much it would mean for Dani to be able to go back home. She may have escaped the slightly oppressive town to find herself, but she still left family and friends behind who she missed a lot, so it would mean a lot to Dani if she could go back and visit them. Jamie also really wanted to visit Dani’s hometown. She had taken Dani around hers a few months back and it had brought them closer together so she thought the same would likely happen if Dani got to do the same.

“I don’t think there’s gunna be enough” Jamie said softly as she was calculating the price of flights, travel expenses and accommodation and the total was more than the amount of money in the bank account that they had opened to save their money in. 

“Maybe we could go at Christmas, we’d have a bit more money by then?” Jamie suggested as she kept looking at the figures she had written down on a piece of paper, hoping that they would miraculously change if she wished hard enough.

“It would be more expensive at Christmas, plus I want us to have enough money to afford a nice Christmas too” Dani said, trying not to sound too deflated. She knew it was unlikely that they would go but she had gotten her hopes up a little when Jamie had got on board with the idea.

“Yeah, guess you’re right” Jamie sighed and reached out to place her hand on Dani’s thigh to hopefully comfort her a little. She knew she had really wanted to go but the math just wasn’t on their side.

Dani smiled softly at Jamie and kissed her cheek. Her eyes told Jamie how she was feeling better than the smile that she was putting on and Jamie just reciprocated the soft smile, trying to hide her own disappointment too.

Dani then picked up the piece of paper Jamie had written her notes out on and studied them carefully. After a minute of two of thinking she said, “What if I asked my Mom if we can stay with her? That would mean we wouldn’t have to pay for accommodation and that would save us enough money to afford everything else”.

“Dani” Jamie said softly but firmly, “From what you’ve told me, you don’t exactly get along great with your Mum, so I highly doubt that you would want to stay with her for a whole week.”

“Yeah…” Dani said as she reflected on her proposal. “I mean I could always ask her and see what she says. Even if we stay with her for a few days, that should bring the total down just enough, right?”.

Jamie began typing in Dani’s proposal dates into the accommodations website so she could calculate the expense. 

“To afford to go, we’d have to stay with your Mum for 4 days and have a hotel for 3 days” Jamie said after a few minutes of calculating.

“We can do that” Dani said, trying to convince herself as well as Jamie that they could handle staying at her Mom’s house for 4 days.

“You sure? I don’t want her to spoil our trip” Jamie said half-jokingly and half seriously.

“Yeah, I’m sure, I can handle it. Plus, we won't be spending all day with her, just at night, I think that’s manageable. Let me ring her and ask” Dani said, walking over to get her mobile phone from the side and call her Mom.

Dani appeared back in the room 5 minutes later with a huge grin on her face. “So, the good news” Dani started as she walked over and sat herself on Jamie’s lap facing her, “We can stay at my Moms for 4 day”. 

“That’s great” Jamie said as she smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Dani’s waist.

“Want to know the even better news?” Dani said as she dropped her phone beside her and tangled her hands in Jamie’s hair. 

“There’s better news?” Jamie laughed as she felt Dani’s lips on her neck.

“Yeah, we can stay for the rest of the week too”.

“And how is that any better?” Jamie said, as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“My Mom will only be there for 2 days, she’s on a cruise so, we get the house to ourselves for the rest of the week” Dani said smiley so widely that her cheeks were starting to ache.

“No way!” Jamie said, as she smiled widely up at Dani as she realised that that meant they would be able to afford to go to Iowa after all.

“Yes way, so… does that mean we can go?” Dani asked shyly, even though she already knew the answer.

“Guess it does, yeah” Jamie said excitedly.

“Well, better get booking then hadn’t we” Dani said as she slid off Jamie’s knee and onto the sofa beside her so that they could book their trip.

[1 month later]

“You ready?” Dani asked Jamie as she sat next to her on the plane which was almost ready for take-off.

“I’d be lying if I said yes” Jamie said as she squeezed Dani’s hand which was holding hers tightly. 

Jamie and Mikey had never flown before, so it was a brand-new experience for the both of them but only one was taking it well. Mikey was sat in the window seat eagerly looking out at the planes beside them whilst Jamie was sat in the aisle seat clinging to the arm rest with one hand and Dani’s hand with the other. 

“We’ll be fine, I promise” Dani said softly before kissing the back of Jamie’s hand.

Jamie just smiled back at Dani, but the smile didn’t do a good job of hiding her nerves like she had hoped. Having never flown before she had no idea what to expect and the uncertainty of the transatlantic flight had been keeping her up for the past few nights.

The plane began to move towards the runway and as it did so, Jamie’s already tight grip on Dani’s hand tightened. 

Dani tried her best to explain everything that was going to happen, but it still didn’t calm Jamie’s nerves very much. As soon as the engine began to roar Jamie started to shake.

“It’s okay, baby” Dani whispered as she kissed the back of Jamie’s hand trying to reassure her a little.

At the sound of the engine starting up, Mikey had shot around to face Dani with a look of pure amazement on his face. “This is so cool!” he said as he tugged on Dani’s arm to draw her attention away from Jamie and to him.

“It is, isn’t it?” she said back giggling a little at the differing reactions from Jamie and Mikey. “Wanna hold my hand for take-off?” Dani asked, unsure if Mikey would need the extra reassurance like Jamie did or not.

Mikey nodded and Dani reached out her hand to hold his.

“I love you” Jamie said suddenly as the engine roared again and the plane started to hurtle down the runway.

Dani giggled at Jamie’s words and guessed that they were the one’s Jamie had chosen to be her final words if this plane journey went how she had planned it to go in her head.

“We’re safe” Dani whispered reassuringly into Jamie’s ear as she held her hand tightly, “But I love you too, everything’s going to be fine, I promise”.

Both Mikey and Jamie squeezed Dani’s hands as the plane lifted off the ground and into the air. 

“Jamie” Dani whispered a few minutes after take-off, “Open your eyes baby, look at Mikey”.

Jamie reluctantly peeled back her eyelids and turned to look at Mikey who was sat upright in his seat with his mouth wide open in amazement as the plane began to even out. 

Jamie couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on her lips as she saw Mikey’s face. She had always wanted to take him on holiday abroad and she knew that he would absolutely love flying. It felt almost surreal being sat on a plane with him and actually flying somewhere and not just sat in the one at the museum pretending to fly to different destinations around the world.

Once the plane settled in the sky and the seatbelt sign went off, Dani lifted the arm rest up that was separating her and Jamie and pulled Jamie in closer to her. Jamie was still shaking a little and her palms were still clammy from all the nerves and she welcomed the feeling of safety that Dani’s arm around her gave her. 

Jamie wasn’t as relaxed at Mikey or Dani so never slept throughout the flight, instead she just sat upright in her seat with her eyes wide just in case anything was to happen. 

Once their flight had landed, they had to brave another one as there was no direct flights from London to Iowa. Jamie was no better on that flight than the first and when they finally landed in Iowa many hours after they had set off, every muscle in Jamie’s body ached with tension.

As they walked out of the airport and the hot Iowa air hit their skin, Dani reached down and took hold of Jamie’s hand. 

“So…” Jamie said, looking around, “This is Iowa”.

“Sure is!” Dani said, not even trying to hide her excitement. She really couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She had dreamt of being in Iowa with Jamie and Mikey for so long and now that they were really there, it all felt surreal.

“Let’s go and get the hire car, shall we?” Dani said as she took hold of Mikey’s hand and set off in search of the hire car place.

“This is the real scary bit now, Mikey, experiencing Dani’s driving” Jamie said playfully as she winked at Mikey.

“Hey! I'm a good driver!” Dani said, nudging Jamie with her elbow.

Dani may have lied slightly about being a good driver. She had gotten her license when she was 16 and had only really passed her test because the examiner had felt sorry for her as Dani was so nervous that she had a panic attack before the test had started. Dani wasn’t exactly a bad driver and she didn’t look the type to be reckless, so the examiner had just passed her to save her the stress of doing the test again.

As they drove to Dani’s hometown from the airport, Jamie tried hard to focus on her surroundings but was too preoccupied with keeping her eyes fixed on the road. Dani had told her to relax but with the way Dani was driving, there was no way Jamie could relax. One hand was gripping the handle above the door and the other was gripping her seatbelt tightly. Jamie liked being in control and hated when anyone else drove her anywhere which is probably the reason why she hated flying too. But she was finding it a little hard to try and not look petrified as Dani drove on the wide-open highways of Iowa.

By the time they had reached Dani’s Mom’s house, they were all extremely tired. They had had a very long day of travelling and the time difference between London and Iowa wasn’t helping either. 

Mikey had been asleep for the majority of the car journey, so he had yet to fully experience Dani’s questionable driving. Jamie hadn’t slept once the whole day as she was too stressed to allow her body to shut down for a few hours, so she was the most tired out of all of them.

“So,” Jamie said as Dani pulled up outside of a house that looked more American than Jamie was picturing, “Is this when I finally meet the parents?”.

Jamie had never met anybody’s parents before, so this was going to be another brand-new experience. This was the part of the trip that she was the most apprehensive about. She could handle meeting friends and neighbours and everything that Dani had planned for them to do but meeting Dani’s Mom, that was terrifying. Dani had tried to reassure her that meeting her Mom wasn’t a big deal. Dani and her Mom weren’t really that close, so it didn’t exactly matter what Dani’s Mom thought of Jamie. Dani knew that she was going to be judgemental with no matter who she brought home, so she it wasn’t a big deal to Dani, but she understood why it was for Jamie.

“I’m right here” Dani said taking hold of Jamie’s hand and kissing it softly, “She’ll just look you up and down for a second then give you a fake smile and tell you how happy she is to see you, no big deal, she does it with everyone, it’s nothing personal”.

Jamie laughed nervously, “I just wanna make a good impression is all, want her to at least kinda like me”.

“She doesn’t like anyone so don’t worry about it” Dani giggled as she tried her best to calm Jamie a little.

Jamie just smiled then cleared her throat a little before sitting up, “Shall we?”.

Dani nodded and got out of the car. Jamie helped her unload the suitcases before she went to wake Mikey up.

“We’re here, kiddo” Jamie whispered as she unclipped Mikey’s seatbelt and picked him up.

“Already?” he said tiredly. 

Jamie just chuckled and walked him over to Dani who was stood on the pavement outside her childhood home looking up at it.

All three of them walked up the path that led to the front door of the large house.

“That’s very American” Jamie said quietly as she pointed up to the very large American flag on a pole outside of the house next door.

Dani just laughed at the comment and as she did, she heard the lock of the front door click.

“Danielle” her Mom said as she opened the door.

Dani shuddered as she heard the name that no longer felt like her own.

“It’s nice to see you” her Mother continued as she stood back to let her daughter in.

Dani couldn’t tell if her Mother meant what she had said or not. She always told her she missed her whenever they spoke on the phone, but Dani just thought that her Mother was lonely and probably just wanted some company. Afterall, she did live alone in a huge empty house, so she probably just missed having someone else occupying the house too.

“Hi Mom” Dani said as she smiled softly and hugged her Mom quickly before walking into the house that looked exactly the same as the day she had left.

“And you must be, erm the, erm” Dani’s Mom said as she stood back and watched Mikey then Jamie enter the house.

“Girlfriend” Jamie stated proudly as she stopped in front of Dani’s Mom and held out her hand confidently.

“Yeah, that’s right” Dani’s Mom said as she reluctantly took Jamie’s hand to shake it as she looked her up and down.

“So, Mom, this is Jamie” Dani said as she motioned towards Jamie who was lowering her arm from the handshake, “And this is Mikey” Dani continued, smiling widely at the very tired Mikey who was stood next to Jamie looking eagerly around his new surroundings.

Mikey looked up at Dani’s Mom and smiled brightly at her and held his hand out just like Jamie had done a few seconds prior. 

“Oh wow, aren’t you precious” Dani’s Mom said as she lowered herself a little to look at Mikey more closely. She had only ever seen a couple of photos of him and Jamie that Dani had sent her, so it was a little odd to see him in real life. 

“Are you my Grandma? I've always wanted a Grandma” Mikey said as Dani’s Mom shook his hand.

Dani’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened in shock as she heard what Mikey had just said and Jamie’s eyebrows shot in astonishment as she held back a laugh.

“Oh wow, okay, maybe that’s a little early to be throwing around such a big word” Dani said as she quickly looked at Jamie then down at Mikey who was still beaming up at Dani’s Mom.

“Grandma, huh?” Dani’s Mom said as she laughed at the comment which wasn’t exactly the reaction Dani was excepting, “We’ll see how this week goes before you start calling me that”.

Dani quickly brought that introductions to a close and politely excused them all so that they could go upstairs and get ready for bed.

They had all quickly showered, changed into their PJs and ate before getting into bed. 

Mikey was tucked up in a blanket on a spare air mattress that Dani’s Mom had found in a cupboard somewhere whilst Dani and Jamie were squished in Dani’s childhood single bed.

“This isn’t what I expected” Jamie whispered as she looked around at all the posters of various artists on Dani’s bedroom walls. Jamie’s eyes also landed on a few trophies and rosettes Dani had won in various competitions over the years.

“No?” Dani asked softly as she pressed her back closer into Jamie’s front.

“I don’t know, I just, I don’t know really what I was expecting but it wasn’t this” Jamie chuckled softly as she wrapped her arm tighter around Dani’s waist.

“I didn’t really spend a lot of time here, so I never really redecorated a lot” Dani whispered.

Jamie knew what Dani was trying to say. They had discussed their childhoods a few times over the course of their relationship, so Jamie knew Dani basically lived at her fiancés house as she preferred his family to her own. 

There were a few moments of silence as the pair listened to Mikey’s soft snores next to them on the floor.

“I can't believe you’re here” Dani whispered as she placed her hand over Jamie’s that was resting on her stomach.

Jamie chuckled softly, “Yeah, I can't believe I'm here either”.

“I used to lay here some nights and just cry myself to sleep thinking that I was wrong or broken or that maybe I was just making everything up” Dani whispered, her voice soft and reflective.

Jamie held Dani tighter as she spoke.

“But now, now I’m laid here with you and I don’t feel any of that anymore. I've not for a long time now and that’s all because of you”.

Jamie nuzzled her face into Dani’s neck and as she listened to Dani speak, a wide smile spread across her lips.

“No, that’s all you baby” Jamie said softly.

“But you made me feel safe enough to explore that part of me so you deserve some credit too” Dani said as she turned her head around so that her lips could find Jamie’s.

“Well, as long as I could be of some assistance, Poppins” Jamie chuckled as she buried her face into Dani’s neck again.

“I love you so much” Dani whispered into the dark room.

“I love you too baby, I can't wait for this week” Jamie whispered back, the excitement evident in her voice.


	16. Hometown Visit (Part 2)

“This is very American” Jamie said as she eyed up the breakfast that the waiter had just placed in front of her.

Dani had taken Jamie and Mikey for breakfast at her favourite diner in town so that they could experience a real American breakfast instead of the poorly cooked one she had made them a few times over the past year.

“There’s no way people eat all this for breakfast every morning, I can just about manage a slice of toast before I've had enough” Jamie said as she moved closer to inspect every piece of food that was stacked on her plate.

“Go one, try it, tell me what you think” Dani said, eagerly waiting for Jamie to stop staring at her food and actually eat it.

“Where do I even start?” Jamie laughed as she picked up her knife and fork.

“Try the pancakes first” Dani suggested, pointing to the stack of pancakes on a separate plate.

“Okay, but I bet they aren’t as good as the ones I made for you that one time” Jamie said laughing as she cut a wedge out of the pancakes and popped it into her mouth.

Jamie nodded her head slowly and hummed as she chewed on the pancakes before mumbling with her mouth full, “These are actually pretty good”.

“Told you” Dani said giggling before turning her attention to her own food and tucking in.

Mikey was already halfway through his stack of pancakes before Jamie had even tasted hers and was soon moving on to whatever Jamie would let him have off of her plate.

As Jamie was passing Mikey her fork with a sausage on, she heard a click of a camera.

“Dani!” Jamie said scowling as she turned around to look at her girlfriend who was smiling widely at them with her phone in her hand taking a picture of the pair.

“What?” Dani asked laughing as she knew what was wrong. Jamie hated having her picture taken, especially when she was caught off guard.

“You know what” Jamie responded before turning back to Mikey whose mouth was wide open waiting for Jamie to feed him her leftovers.

“Can I take a nice one of you two then?” Dani said giggling and moving herself so that she could get a better angle.

Jamie just sighed and turned to face Dani with a fake smile plastered on her face. 

“Jamie” Dani said with an unamused look on her face, “Smile properly”.

Jamie dropped the fake smile and laughed as she looked at the unimpressed look on Dani’s face and as soon as she did, Dani took the picture.

Dani laughed as she opened the picture she had just taken. Jamie was sat laughing whilst she held out her fork to Mikey and Mikey was sat grinning next to her with a mouth full of food.

“You guys look so adorable” Dani said giggling and smiling widely as she kept looking at the picture on her phone.

Jamie just chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully, “Bet I look awful”.

“You could never look awful, baby” Dani said softly and seriously as she smiled at Jamie who just rolled her eyes playfully again at the comment.

“Can I have the rest of your biscuit please?” Mikey asked as he pointed to the half-eaten breakfast biscuit on the edge of Jamie’s plate.

“That’s not a biscuit” Jamie responded as she looked at the item of food that Mikey was pointing at on her plate.

“Yeah, it is” Mikey said as he reached out to grab it.

“No, it's not” Jamie said back, trying not to laugh as she swatted his hand away from her plate.

“Yeah, it is, Mum calls it a biscuit” Mikey responded frowning.

“Oh, and you trust her, do you? She’s American, they have funny names for everything” Jamie said playfully as she picked up the breakfast biscuit and took another bite out of it.

“Yeah, course I do” Mikey said as his eyes followed the biscuit from Jamie’s plate and into her mouth.

“That’s clearly not a biscuit, it's more like a scone with a burger on it” Jamie mumbled as her mouth was still full, “A biscuit is like a digestive, not whatever this thing is”.

Dani just laughed as Mikey looked at her for confirmation of what to call the mystery item that he wanted to eat more of.

“Different people just have different names for the same thing is all, call it what you want Mikey, ignore Jamie, she’s just trying to confuse you” Dani said smiling at a very confused Mikey before she covered her mouth so only he could see it and whispered, “But it’s called a biscuit”.

Mikey chuckled at her before turning to look at Jamie to stick his tongue out at her playfully and Jamie did the same thing back.

“Here, have mine since Jamie won't share” Dani said offering Mikey half of her breakfast biscuit which he eagerly took from her as he mumbled a thank you and took a huge bite.

“He’s already had one, that’s why I’m not sharing” Jamie said laughing as she polished off her last bite and wiped her mouth with the napkin next to her, “And even though it isn’t a biscuit, it’s actually pretty good”.

Dani just laughed and rolled her eyes as she watched Jamie’s land on the other half of her breakfast biscuit.

‘Do you want it?” Dani asked.

Jamie’s head shot up to look at her, trying to hide that she did in fact want it, “No, I mean, if you’re not going to finish it, then, well I don’t want it to go to waste if that’s what you mean”.

Dani just laughed as she picked it up and held it out for Jamie to take a bite of.

“You two are just the same, do you know that?” Dani said laughing as she looked between Jamie and Mikey who were both eagerly eating her left over biscuit.

“So…” Jamie said as she observed her surroundings through a pair of Dani’s old sungalsses, “This is very American”.

“How many times have you said that since we’ve been here? You do realise that we are actually in America and that everything will be ‘very American’?” Dani said giggling as she took hold of Jamie’s hand as they walked through the entrance to the County Fair.

“I feel a little underdressed” Jamie said as she eyed up a group of young men in front of them who were wearing cowboy boots, chaps and cowboy hats.

Dani just laughed as she watched Jamie’s head turn as they walked past the group of men so that she could get a better look at their outfits. 

“I think you look the part” Dani said which caused Jamie’s head to turn back towards Dani.

“Really? I kinda think I look like I'm not from around here and this is my first time going to such an event” Jamie said as she looked down at her choice of outfit for the day. The weather was hot, hotter than Jamie was used to, so she had opted for a pair of small denim shorts, a white cut off top and a flannel to keep the sun from burning her shoulders.

“You look adorable” Dani said, smiling brightly at Jamie as they walked along the grass, “Could use a pair of cowboy boots though”.

Jamie just laughed as she and Dani both looked down at her very worn and faded Doc Martens.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Poppins” Jamie said biting her lip as she looked her girlfriend up and down a few times. 

Dani had found an old summer dress in her wardrobe that morning that she used to wear as a teenager and luckily for Jamie, it still fitted her. Dani had decided to wear the dress since the weather was extremely hot and the clothes in her suitcase weren’t very appropriate for that kind of weather. She had also decided to wear it as she saw an all too familiar look in Jamie’s eyes when she had tried it on that morning and wanted to tease her a little for the rest of the day.

“But I already told ya that this mornin’ didn’t I?” Jamie said winking at Dani and smirking.

Dani blushed at Jamie’s comment as her mind flashed back to Jamie on her knees in front of her that morning in the bathroom with her head under her dress before they were rudely interrupted by her Mom who needed to have a shower and get ready for the day. 

“You did” Dani giggled as she squeezed Jamie’s hand which she was holding, “Maybe we could finish what we started at some point today”.

Jamie smirked and raised one eyebrow as she took in Dani’s whispered comment over the band that was playing somewhere near them, “Was already planning too” Jamie replied as she lent closer into Dani’s ear.

“Mum!” Mikey shouted as he tugged on her hand which he was holding, “Look at that cow!”.

Dani’s attention was pulled away from a smirking Jamie and down to Mikey who was watching a man with a bull nearby.

“That’s a bull, sweetheart” Dani said laughing a little as she watched Mikey stare at the very large animal a head of them, “But he’s very impressive isn’t he, do you want to go and have a closer look?”.

Mikey nodded enthusiastically as he led the way to the man with a bull but then he suddenly stopped as he spotted a stall nearby selling candy floss.

“I can't believe you bought him a bag of candy floss at 11am, he’s gunna be crazy for the rest of the day” Jamie said chuckling a little as she watched Mikey reach into the bag and pull out a handful of pink sugar and stuff it into his mouth.

“We’re on holiday” Dani said smiling brightly at Jamie, “Plus, there’s plenty for him to do here to burn off his energy, he’ll be fine. Are you just jealous that I didn’t buy you any to eat?”

One side of Jamie’s lips tugged upwards at Dani’s comment before saying, “What I want to eat, you don’t have to buy for me”.

“Jamie!” Dani said in a high-pitched voice as she playfully pushed Jamie’s shoulder. 

The rest of the day was spent lathering on sun cream and enjoying their time at the fair. Mikey dragged Jamie on every ride there was and ate just about everything in sight. He got to meet a variety of animals that were there to be shown and Dani took his picture with every single one. Jamie would just stand back and laugh at how much of a Mum Dani was as she ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to style his mountain of dark curls that were identical to Jamie’s before squatting down in front of him to take his picture next to random animals. She even made Jamie stand with him for a picture next to a prize-winning bull that Jamie didn’t like to look of and vice versa. 

“Here, last lot of sun cream before we go home” Dani said squatting in front of Mikey and taking his hat off so that she could reach his face a little better.

Dani had been in charge of sun cream all day and every two hours of so, she would stop them all and cover them with it. She knew that Jamie and Mikey’s skin weren’t used these kinds of temperatures and wanted to make sure that they didn’t even up burning. If she was being honest, her skin had also gotten accustomed to the English weather so the regular sun cream stops were as much for her benefit as they were for Jamie and Mikey.

Jamie stood laughing as she watched Mikey scrunch up his face as he prepared for Dani to rub in the cream.

“Stop laughing, it’s your turn next” Dani said as she shot around to look at Jamie who was stood behind her.

After she was done applying a thick layer of cream to Mikey’s face, arms and legs, she moved on to Jamie. 

“Jesus” Jamie said as she scrunched up her face in the exact same way that Mikey had done moments earlier, “Could you at least try to be a little gentle?”.

“Serves you right for laughing” Dani said as she rubbed cream into Jamie’s cheeks a little roughly.

When Dani was content that the cream was rubbed into Jamie’s face, her hands moved down to Jamie’s stomach which was exposed due to the cropped t-shirt she was wearing. 

“Oh, that was unexpected” Jamie said as her eyes fluttered shut for a moment as she focused on Dani’s hands on her stomach and back.

“Well, don’t want your stomach to burn now, do we?” Dani said, smiling cheekily at Jamie.

“Gunna do me legs too?” Jamie asked smirking as Dani finished rubbing in the sun cream into her stomach.

“No, you can do those yourself” Dani said giggling as she handed Jamie the tube of sun cream.

Jamie huffed then proceeded to squirt some cream into her hands and rub it into her legs.

“And the back” Dani said, making sure Jamie reached every spot.

“Can't reach” Jamie said smirking.

Dani just rolled her eyes playfully and bent down to rub the cream into the back of Jamie’s thighs, “You didn’t seem to have a problem doing the back all day”.

“A little higher” Jamie said smirking once hands made their way up her thighs to just below her shorts.

“Jamie! We’re in public, stop it” Dani whispered as she giggled at the comment.

“So, Jamie, Dani told me you’re a, erm, a gardener” Dani’s Mom said as she picked up her knife and folk to start eating.

Jamie had suggested that all three of them should have dinner one night with Dani’s Mom so that they could have a chance to get to know each other. Dani hadn’t necessarily hated the idea as she did want to spend at least a little time with her Mom before she left to go on her cruise, but she wasn’t looking forward to her Mother’s insistent questioning.

Jamie had offered to cook which she wasn’t looking forward to, but she wanted to try and make Dani’s Mom like her a little bit and she wanted to make a good impression and show that she could take good care of her daughter. Dani had assisted Jamie in her effort to make a lasagne whilst her Mom and Mikey sat in the living room watching TV together.

“Yeah, I am. A gardener, groundskeeper, all-round handyman really, kinda just do any job that needs doing really, but gardening is my main thing yeah” Jamie replied smiling kindly at Dani’s Mom as she spoke.

“And is that all you want to do with your life? Garden?” Dani’s Mom asked in a tone of voice that everyone around that table knew meant that she didn’t approve of Jamie’s job prospects.

“Yeah, it is actually” Jamie said proudly, not letting Dani’s Mom’s words get to her, “But I don’t want to work at the Manor forever, I would like to start my own landscaping business actually. The manor gives me a paycheck every month and it gives me some really valuable experience that I’ll be able to use for my own business one day, but no, I don’t want to do it forever”.

Dani smiled proudly over at Jamie who was sat in front of her and rubbed her foot gently against Jamie’s as she did so.

“Oh, that’s nice” Dani’s Mom said in the same tone she had used before. “And what about you Danielle? I can't imagine that that school you work at pays you well, not like the one here used to”.

Dani just rolled her eyes at Jamie who tried to stifle her laugh.

“The school actually pays very well, and I love it there. There’s actually a chance for me to be promoted next year” Dani said, trying not to sound to annoyed by her Mom’s line of questioning.

“Well, I suppose that’s good, but you might want to think about finding a better school to work at, I don’t want you wasting all your potential at a mediocre” Dani’s Mom continued, not lifting her eyes from her plate as she spoke.

The rest of the dinner continued in relatively the same fashion, Dani’s Mom quizzed them both about their lives and what their intentions were for the future and what their intentions were with each other.

Jamie had made it clear that she planned on being with Dani for as long as Dani wanted her and, in a few years, if they were both still up for it, they would add to their little family. Jamie had even joked that Dani’s Mom was always welcome to babysit for them. The joke didn’t elicit much laughter from Dani’s Mom but then again, Jamie didn’t expect it too, it was more for her own amusement. 

Dani was the one who brought up marriage which caused Dani’s Mom’s eyes to widen in panic. Dani smirked and bit her lip as she looked at Jamie’s whose eyes were wide too but for a different reason. Dani and Jamie had talked about having children together and giving Mikey a sibling or two, but they had never discussed the idea of marriage. However, the idea had crossed both Dani and Jamie’s minds before and neither were opposed to the idea.

“So…” Jamie whispered quietly as she laid on Dani’s chest later that night in Dani’s childhood bed, “You wanna get married then?”.

Dani giggled quietly as not to wake Mikey up who was sleeping on the floor next to them, “Maybe, if you want to”.

“I’m not opposed to the idea” Jamie said softly as she moved her head to look up at Dani.

“Neither am I” Dani said running her fingers through Jamie’s hair soothingly, “Actually, I quite like the idea”.

Jamie chuckled, “Yeah, me too. Mrs Jamie Clayton does have a nice ring to it”.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to be Mrs Dani Taylor since you and Mikey are already Taylors?” Dani giggled as she liked the sound of that name said out loud.

“Or we could just hyphenate? We can sort the practicalities out nearer the time” Jamie laughed as she shuffled herself up Dani’s body so that she could kiss her lips.

“Does that mean we’ve made the decision to get married then?” Dani asked when she pulled away.

“I guess so, but I wanna ask ya properly, so don’t start planning just yet” Jamie said chuckling as she kissed Dani’s lips again softly.

“Well, I look forward to it, baby” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips before they connected them again in a soft, loving kiss.


	17. Proposal

It had been 6 months since Dani, Jamie and Mikey’s trip to Iowa and 6 months since Jamie had said that she wanted to properly propose to Dani. The thought hadn’t left either of their minds since that night when they were squished into Dani’s childhood bed with their arms and legs tangled together. 

Dani had been hoping that Jamie would ask her as soon as possible but as the months passed, she had started to worry that maybe she had interpreted Jamie’s comments in the wrong way or even worse, that Jamie had changed her mind about wanting to marry her. Dani had pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind as she tried hard to forget about the terrible thoughts that swirled around in her head.

Jamie had not in fact changed her mind at all, it was actually the opposite. As soon as they had come home from their trip, Jamie had started her search for the perfect ring. She had finally found it around a month later after many many hours of online searching and browsing the local jewellers. After the ring was purchased, the only thing that was left for her to do was ask Dani but that was proving to be the difficult part. 

Jamie had just assumed that the perfect proposal plan would fall into place once she had found the right ring, but it hadn’t. She wanted the moment to be special and romantic and everything that she had seen in the films that she used to watch as a child. She had thought about taking her and Dani on a romantic weekend away somewhere or taking her to a fancy restaurant in one of the towns nearby or even asking her on New Year’s Eve but none of the thousands of options Jamie had come up with felt right. She would lay awake at night trying to come up with the perfect proposal but nothing that she could think of felt like her and Dani.

6 months after she had promised to propose, she had an idea. It wasn’t exactly a big romantic grand gesture, but it felt right, it felt more like them. She knew Dani was probably getting a little worried by now about why she hadn’t been proposed to yet and this was the best idea she had had so, she decided to go through with it.

It was the week before Valentine’s Day which hadn’t been an intentional decision for Jamie, she had actually forgotten all about the holiday all together as she had been so busy fretting over planning her proposal. 

Dani had had a stressful week that week at work and the constant thoughts she kept having of Jamie proposing hadn’t even entered her mind for the past 2 weeks as she had been so preoccupied.

Dani came home and threw her bag onto the sofa before hanging her jacket up on the hook behind the door.

“Jamie?” Dani called as she started to make her way towards their bedroom.

The was no reply so Dani called out again, “Jamie, are you home?”.

Still no response.

Dani furrowed her brow in confusion as Jamie was usually home before her, especially on a Friday when Jamie finished earlier than she normally did. Dani just assumed that maybe she had forgotten Jamie saying that she would be home late as she had left the apartment that morning in a rush as she had woken up late.

Dani made her way into the bedroom and began undressing so she could change out of her clothes that were covered in paint, glue and glitter and into something a little cleaner when she saw an envelope resting on her pillow.

Dani’s eyebrows knitted together as she continued to remove her jumper before picking up the note. She threw her jumper absentmindedly in the direction of the laundry basket in the corner of the room as she focused on opening the letter.

‘Dani, I hope you’ve had a good day at work. Have a relaxing bath (I got you some of that fancy bubble bath you like, it’s on the side of the tub) then put on something nice. Dinner will be ready at 6pm. I love you more than anything in this world, Jamie’

Dani smiled widely as she read the letter and she felt her heart flutter in excitement and anticipation for the night’s events. Jamie was always surprising her with cute things like this, so she was looking forward to seeing what Jamie had planned for them.

Jamie couldn’t cook which proved to be a major flaw in her plan to propose to Dani. Her speciality was dino nuggets and chips and she couldn’t exactly serve that on the night that she was trying to get Dani to agree to marry her, although she suspected that Dani would still say yes regardless of what Jamie gave her to eat. 

Jamie had decided to enlist the help of her friends who she worked with, Hannah and Owen. Hannah, the manors housekeeper, had helped her smooth out the details of the plan and helped her with the practical elements, like picking Mikey up from school for her and ironing her clothes. Owen, the manors chef who ran the small café that served the visitors, helped her with the cooking. He had asked her what she wanted to serve for the meal then he helped her cook it. Jamie had tried to help the best she could but after cutting her finger whilst chopping the potatoes, Owen had politely asked her to leave and do the washing up instead, so she didn’t injure herself anymore.

Whilst the food was being taken care of by a professional, Jamie got changed with the help of Hannah who couldn’t wait to get her hands on Jamie’s wild hair and help tame it.

“You look beautiful” Hannah said softly as she placed her hands gently onto Jamie’s upper arms to give them a light reassuring squeeze as Jamie looked at herself in the mirror.

Jamie let out a long sigh as she smoothed down her brown trousers and adjusted her suspenders. “Ya think?” Jamie asked nervously, looking at Hannah threw the mirror.

“I know so, darling” she replied softly as she gave Jamie a loving smile.

Hannah had been working at the Manor ever since Jamie had started and she had been her first real friend since she had moved to Bly. Hannah had always been there for Jamie and treated her almost like a daughter. Hannah had been there to help her with Mikey and was always there to reassure her that she was doing the right things for him. Hannah had also been there when Jamie had brought Dani to the Manor for the first time. Jamie hadn’t known but Hannah had seen them wondering the gardens and picking flowers together and something in Hannah’s gut had told her that Dani was the one for Jamie. Hannah was lucky enough to witness the change in Jamie that was caused by her dating Dani. Jamie was confident and cocky on the outside but over time, Hannah could start to tell that Dani had softened her ever so slightly and had allowed her to let her walls down a little, not just with her, but with everyone else too. Jamie no longer walked around the garden with a frown on her face, instead a bright smile had taken its place. Hannah couldn’t have been happier when Jamie had told her her plan to propose to Dani and she was even happier when she found out Jamie wanted her help with it too and pulled the short brunette into an excited, bone-crunching embrace, much to the dismay of Jamie who hated physical contact from anyone except Dani.

“Thank you, for everything” Jamie said sincerely as she turned around to look at Hannah.

“Your most welcome my dear, and I wish you all the luck in the world for tonight but I'm guessing you won't need any of it because she is going to say yes, I know she is” Hannah said reassuringly as she smiled widely at Jamie who just gave her a small nervous smile.

“Food’s ready” Owen said, knocking on the door of Hannah’s bedroom.

“Come in” Hannah said, smiling her smile that she only reserved for Owen before he had even entered the room.

“Oh wow” Owen said as he entered the room and looked at Jamie who was stood nervously next to Hannah, “You scrub up pretty well”.

Jamie just narrowed her eyes at Owen and shifted slightly in her place.

“Owen! Tell her she looks beautiful” Hannah said scowling at Owen’s comment.

“You look beautiful, Jamie” Owen said in a serious tone that made Jamie believe what he was saying was true. “And so do you Hannah, you always do” he said winking at the housekeeper.

Hannah just blushed and turned her attention away from Owen and onto Jamie, “Well come on then, no time like the present”.

Jamie Owen and Hannah all made their way down the large grand staircase to the entrance of the manor where Mikey was patiently waiting for them. Owen had helped Mikey get changed into his suit which he had helped him buy especially for this occasion. 

“You look so handsome!” Jamie squealed as she wrapped her arms around Mikey and spun him around a few times before going to ruffle his hair but stopped mid action. “Gel?” Jamie asked as she knitted her eyebrows and looked between Owen and Mikey as she held her hand above Mikey’s head.

“Sure is, wanted him to look the part” Owen said laughing.

“Looks good actually” Jamie said smiling as she looked closer at Mikey’s gelled back curls, “Might have to teach me how to do that sometime Owen”.

“You ready then?” Jamie asked, taking in a deep breath as she took Mikey’s hand in hers and looked down at him.

He nodded and grinned widely. He had been looking forward to this day ever since Jamie had told him her plan and he had tried his hardest not to accidentally spoil the surprise.

Owen packed the food for them and placed it in Jamie’s truck before she drove the short distance back to her apartment.

Dani was just finishing her make-up when she heard the front door open and hushed voices talking. She just smiled to herself as she carried on applying her lipstick and looked at the clock: 6pm on the dot.

A minute later she heard a knock on the bedroom door and as she got up out of her seat to answer it, she knew exactly who was going to be behind the door. However, when she twisted the handle and pulled the door open, her brow furrowed for a second as her eyes made their way down to land on a very smart-looking Mikey.

“Miss Clayton” he said holding out his arm for her to take, “Can I show you to your table?”.

Dani couldn’t help the large toothy grin that appeared on her lips at the sight of Mikey in his smart black suit with gelled back hair.

“You certainly can” Dani said as she took hold of Mikey’s arm and followed him into the kitchen.

“Hey” Dani said softly as her eyes landed on Jamie who was stood behind a chair at the kitchen table which had three bowls of steaming soup placed on it.

“Hey” Jamie said softly as she smiled back at Dani, “You look stunning”.

Dani giggled and walked over to Jamie and kissed her lips. “So do you, baby” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips before kissing her again.

“Here, sit down” Jamie said, moving back a little to untuck the chair for Dani to sit on and when she did, Jamie tucked her in.

“What’s all this for?” Dani asked as watched Jamie and Mikey take their seats at the table too.

“Just thought we could have a nice dinner together is all” Jamie said smiling widely at Dani, trying to hide her nerves the best she could.

All through the three courses that Owen had lovingly prepared for them, Jamie’s nerves gradually increased. Her palms were constantly covered in a thin layer of sweat making holding her cutlery a challenge and she hoped that her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. Mikey kept giving her small smiles throughout the dinner hoping that they would calm her nerves a little which they did, but they also reminded Jamie what was at stake here. If Dani said no, then what would that mean for her and Mikey and the little family that they had lovingly created together.

They polished off desert which was an amazing cheesecake Owen had created the day before for them and let Jamie try that afternoon to make sure that she liked it. Jamie took a deep breath in knowing that this was her chance. She placed her hand on the outside of the pocket of her trousers and felt the ring safely tucked away in the material then stood up and wiped her clammy palms on her hips.

Jamie softly cleared her throat before saying “Dani” and letting out shaky breath.

Dani looked up at her and so did Mikey, only one of them knowing what was about to happen.

Jamie had arranged the table so that Dani was seated at the head of the table with Jamie and Mikey on either side of her so that she could have easier access to be able to kneel down beside Dani.

“So…” Jamie said, not really knowing how to start what she wanted to say.

Dani gave Jamie a soft loving smile as she looked up at her which helped ease Jamie’s tension just a little.

“I’ve had a little trouble trying to figure out how to do this. I thought about maybe taking you away for the weekend or going to one of those fancy places a few towns over but for some reason all the ideas I had didn’t really feel like us so, I decided on this instead. I know you may have wanted some grand romantic gesture, but it just felt right to do it here, in our home. Afterall, this is where we thrive right, in these four walls that we’ve made our home? We’ve had so many special moments here together, we had our first kiss here, we spent our first night together here, we had our first Christmas here and so many more amazing moments, all three of us so, why not add another to the list?”.

Dani knew exactly what was going on now and the smile and love in her eyes only grew as she listened to Jamie talk as she tried to soak up the moment.

“Dani Clayton” Jamie said softly as she got on one knee and pulled the ring from her pocket, “I’ve loved you ever since the first moment I laid my eyes on ya and you make me feel like the luckiest person alive by choosing me out of all the billions of other people on this plant to love. We’ve built an incredibly beautiful family together and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with ya, if ya want me that is”.

Dani was already smiling and nodding yes as tears fell from her eyes whilst she watched Jamie nervously stumble to the end of her speech.

“So… Danielle Clayton, I know ya hate your full name, but I thought I should do this properly, will you do me the honour of making me ya wife?”.

Dani couldn’t keep the tears of pure joy falling thick and fast down her face as she nodded enthusiastically and said “Yes! Yes! Of course, a million times yes!”.

Dani held out her shaking left hand which Jamie held with her equally as shaky right hand and slipped the ring onto Dani’s ring finger.

“It’s perfect” Dani whispered as she held her hand closer to her face to admire the ring. It was a simple gold claddagh ring which had their initials engraved on the inside.

“I love it” Dani whispered as she pulled Jamie into her by her rosy cheeks to kiss her. The kiss was loving and filled with desire which caused Mikey to say “ewww” and cover his eyes with his hands.

“I love you” Jamie whispered against Dani’s lips as she stared into her teary blue eyes.

“I love you too” Dani whispered back, giggling with excitement as she reconnected their lips. “I thought you were never going to ask me”.

“Yeah, sorry about that, I was just trying to find the right way to ask ya, it took me longer than I thought it would” Jamie said smiling softly as she held Dani’s cheeks in her hands.

“Well, it was definitely worth the wait, it was perfect, thank you” Dani said smiling widely before kissing Jamie’s lips again.

“And were you in on this?” Dani asked, turning to look at Mikey who was sat next to her with a huge grin on his face that was identical to the one on Jamie’s.

“Yeah” he giggled as she jumped off his chair to wrap his arms around Dani.

“Come here” Dani said as she tapped her knee which Mikey happily climbed up on so that he could hug her better. Dani wrapped her arms around Mikey and kissed the top of his head, “I love you both, so much” Dani said as she reached out a hand to pull Jamie into the hug.

“I love you both so much too” Jamie whispered as she kissed Dani’s cheek then the top of Mikey’s head.

“So, when are we getting married then?” Dani asked as she laid on Jamie’s bare chest looking up at her with loving eyes later on that night.

“Whenever ya want” Jamie said smiling softly as she ran her hands through Dani’s messy blonde hair, “There’s no rush”.

“Maybe we should just elope” Dani said giggling as she kissed Jamie’s collarbone.

“In Vegas?” Jamie asked chuckling.

“Maybe, or here, I suppose it doesn’t matter” Dani said giggling “As long as I get to marry you, I don’t care”.

“I don’t think eloping in Bly would be as exciting as eloping in Vegas” Jamie said laughing as she imagined them running away to the local register office in town.

“No, it wouldn’t, you’re right” Dani giggled. “Plus, I want a wedding, I just don’t want to wait to marry you is all” Dani said as she sat up a little so she could kiss Jamie on the lips.

“I know, baby but there’s no rush is there? We can just enjoy the stresses of planning a big wedding, can't we?”.

“Yeah, I suppose so” Dani said laying her head back down on Jamie’s chest. 

“I love you so much, Jamie” Dani said softly as she kissed the closest patch of skin that she could find.

“I love you so much too, Dani, more than anything in this world” Jamie whispered against the top of Dani’s head before she kissed it.

“Ready for round 2?” Dani asked with a smirk on her lips as she lifted her head back off of Jamie’s chest to look her in the eyes.

Jamie nodded and chuckled before saying “And 3 and 4 and however many rounds ya want”. She then caught Dani off guard by flipping them over and sitting on top of her which caused Dani to let out a loud squeal and giggle as Jamie’s lips found her neck.


	18. Adoption

It had all started with a random thought late one night when Dani was struggling to get back to sleep. She had a few things swirling through her mind that had kept her from drifting back into a deep sleep as she listened to Jamie’s soft snores and rhythmic breathing beside her. 

A small knock on the bedroom door and quiet voice calling “Mum” pulled her out of her thoughts. 

Dani turned to look at the door to see Mikey stood in their room with his teddy bear and blanket held tightly in his hands. “You okay, sweetheart?” Dani whispered as she sat up a little to look at him.

“I had a bad dream” Mikey said as he walked closer to Dani.

“Oh sweetheart, come here” Dani said as she motioned for him to come and join her in bed by pulling back the duvet a little. 

Mikey always wanted to sleep in Dani and Jamie’s bed after he had had a bad dream and neither of them minded, Dani actually quite enjoyed it really. She knew that Mikey was growing up fast and in a few years’ time, he wouldn’t need her as much as he does now, so she took every opportunity she could while he still wanted her to comfort him.

Mikey climbed up into the bed and laid down beside Dani who wrapped her arm around him gently.

“You’re safe now, sweetheart” she whispered as she kissed the back of his head, “Do you wanna talk about it?”.

Mikey just shook his head and pulled his teddy bear closer into his chest.

“Okay, sweetheart, I'm here if you need me though. Try and get some sleep”.

“I love you, Mum” Mikey whispered as he took hold of her hand than was resting on the bed next to him.

“I love you too, sweetheart” Dani said before kissing the back of Mikey’s head again.

“You’re the best Mum in the world” Mikey whispered as he tucked himself further under the covers.

A soft smile spread across Dani’s lips at Mikey’s words and she sat up a little to kiss his cheek. “Goodnight, sweetheart” Dani whispered as she squeezed Mikey’s hand which was still holding hers.

It was at this moment that the thought first entered her head. She hadn’t given much consideration to their family dynamics. The three of them were a family and it didn’t really matter what anyone else thought but Dani couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to officially be Mikey’s Mum. It wouldn’t change anything about their relationship, but it would change everything about it legally. If her and Jamie were going to be making the legal commitment to be together for the rest of their lives, it would be nice if she could make a similar commitment to Mikey and adopt him. She had told him many times that she would always be there for him, no matter what, but it would be nice to make that commitment legally.

Jamie’s hand running over her stomach quickly pulled Dani away from her thoughts.

“Bad dream?” Jamie whispered as she pulled herself closer into Dani’s back before kissing her neck.

“Yeah” Dani said softly as she placed her hand on top of Jamie’s that was now resting on her stomach.

Jamie just hummed and nuzzled her face further into Dani’s neck before she said, “You’re a great Mum, y’know that?”.

Dani just smiled softly and pushed herself closer into Jamie’s front before she whispered “I love you” but it was too late, Jamie was already fast asleep.

Dani’s thoughts about adopting Mikey had been pushed to the back of her mind as she carried on with her busy week, but they soon resurfaced when Mikey brought home a piece of homework that he needed her help with.

“Mum, can you help me with this, I'm confused” Mikey said as he sat at the kitchen table chewing on the end of his pencil with a furrowed brow. It was the exact same look that Jamie usually had on her face when she was confused too, so a wide smile appeared on Dani’s face as soon as she saw it.

“Sure, sweetheart, what is it? Maths?” Dani replied as she dried the dish in her hand before walking over to Mikey.

“Ya never need my help these days” Jamie said chuckling as Dani left her to do the washing up alone, “Honestly, I’m kinda glad about it though, never really understood what was going on half the time”.

“It’s a family tree” Mikey said as he continued chewing on the end of his pencil and watched as Dani sat down beside him.

“Oh” Dani said as she looked at the sheet of paper in front of Mikey, “I think you might need Jamie for that”.

Jamie looked over at Dani as she dried off a plate, “What family members do ya need? I don’t know many to be honest”.

“Mum, Dad, brothers and sisters, grandmas and grandads and anyone else” Mikey said as he looked up at Jamie who was walking over to him now, “My friend Billy even put his dog in his”.

Jamie laughed as she pulled out the chair next to Mikey and took a seat, “Pretty sure ya don’t need to include ya dog in your family tree but suppose they are family. Well, you can do ya Mum and ya Dad, you know who they are, you can do me and Dani”.

“But Dani’s my Mum” Mikey said as he furrowed his brow again and Jamie then realised where his confusion lied.

“Yeah, I know she is” Jamie said as she placed her forearms on the table and looked across at Dani, trying to gage her feelings about the situation, “But on a family tree, ya write down like ya biological family members. Obviously, Dani is ya Mum, but I think it wants you to write down Louise and Dennis”.

Jamie and Mikey hardly ever talked about their parents, there was no need to really as they weren’t in their lives, but Mikey knew of them. He was taken away from them when he was only 2 so he was too young to actually remember them, but he had seen pictures of them that Jamie had showed him. Jamie always referred to her Mum and Dad by their names so Mikey did too. He had never once called them Mum and Dad.

Mikey sat with knitted eyebrows for a few moments as he thought about what Jamie had said then asked, “But I don’t know them. If Dani is my Mum, why can't I put her?”.

Jamie sighed softly and gave Dani a quick look before she turned back to Mikey, “I know kiddo, I remember doing the same piece of work when I was a little older than you. I was already in foster care at the time and I found it confusing too. The people I were living with were called my parents, but I also had biological parents too, so I didn’t know who to put either”.

“Who did you write down?” Mikey asked.

“Your family are whoever you choose them to be, Mikey, just like you chose Dani to be your Mum and her Mum to call Grandma” Jamie said, looking over at Dani and giving her a quick wink at the reference to Mikey calling her Mom Grandma the entire time that they were in Iowa, “But we also all have biological family too, but we have no obligation to refer to them as family if we don’t want to. Family is whoever is in here, okay?” Jamie continued as she placed her hand over Mikey’s heart.

Mikey sat in silence for a few moments as he contemplated what Jamie had just said. “Okay” he said nodding slowly, “Can I make two then? One biological one and one for the people I chose so that Dani can be in one?”.

Dani’s face lit up as she saw how desperately Mikey wanted to include her in his family free and her heart couldn’t help but flutter.

“Sounds like a great idea, kiddo” Jamie said smiling widely as she looked over at Dani who had tears in her eyes and reached out to hold her hand.

“You know, I was thinking” Jamie said as she nuzzled her face into Dani’s neck as they were cuddling in bed that night.

“What now” Dani giggled as she took hold of Jamie’s hand that was wondering aimlessly over her stomach, “Don’t tell me you want a dog, I’ve already told you, we don’t have the room”.

Jamie laughed at Dani’s comment and pouted, “And I said when we move out of here and get a house together, then can we have a dog?”.

“And I said of course. We could even have two if we have enough space” Dani said before kissing Jamie’s cheek.

“Anyway, I wasn’t thinking about getting a dog, but I am now” Jamie said chuckling, “I was actually going to say, how do you feel about adopting Mikey”.

Dani tensed a little at Jamie’s comment as she couldn’t quite believe that Jamie had mentioned it. She had thought that she was the only one who had thought about it but obviously not.

Jamie sensed Dani tense a little and quickly said, “I know it’s a big decision and you don’t have to if you don’t want to, you’ll always be his Mum, I just thought that maybe after today, it would be nice to think about it. The thought had crossed my mind a few times before but today made me realise that if we’re getting married, it might be nice for you to legally become his Mum as well as my wife. Then in the eyes of the law we are a real family, I mean we already are but if anything were to happen to either of us, we would be recognised as a family. I know it’s a lot to think about and I'm sorry if I just sprung it on you, I-”.

“I’d love to” Dani said softly, cutting Jamie off and placing her lips on hers.

“Wait, really?” Jamie asked as she pulled back, slightly shocked at Dani’s quick response.

“Yeah, I thought about it the other week actually and again today. I didn’t realise you had also thought about it, I thought I was the only one” Dani said laughing a little.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it a few times actually. I didn’t want to ask you before I proposed, just in case ya said no to marrying me” Jamie said laughing.

“Did you really think I would have said no?” Dani asked, half seriously, half-jokingly.

“I mean, I don’t know. You were the one who asked about marriage first, but I was still nervous ya might have changed ya mind or something. You might have gotten sick of us in the time it took for me to actually decide how to ask” Jamie said as she rolled onto her front and rested her arms and chin on Dani’s chest.

“I will never get sick of you two, do you realise how much I adore you both?” Dani said softly as she smiled widely at Jamie who was looking up at her with loving eyes.

“How are you so perfect, Miss Clayton? Or should I say soon to be Mrs Taylor?” Jamie said as she lent forwards to place soft kisses along Dani’s jawline and neck.

Dani giggled as Jamie peppered her with kisses. “I love you so much, Jamie” Dani whispered as she pulled Jamie’s face closer to her.

“I love you too, I can't wait to marry ya” Jamie whispered back before she connected their lips in a slow loving kiss.


	19. Family Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has almost reached 10,000 hits, that’s crazy! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story, keeps reading it, left kudos or commented on it, your support means the world to me!! I never thought that this fic would reach 100 hits let alone 10,000 so thank you so much!! 
> 
> I know the show implies that Denny wasn't the greatest older brother in the world but for the purposes of this chapter I'd like to think that he wasn't so bad so, I hope you all enjoy!!

Ever since the day that Mikey had brought home his family tree homework assignment and Jamie had asked Dani if she would like to adopt Mikey, Jamie had been thinking more and more about her own family. Although she had created a beautiful family with Dani and Mikey, she couldn’t help but think about her older brother Denny.

Ever since her and Denny were taken into foster care, they hadn't been in contact. They were spilt up like so many other siblings and never saw each other again. Denny was a few years older than Jamie, so he had left foster care before her and Jamie had just assumed that he had put all of that behind him and made a new life for himself. She had tried to find him once she had turned 18 but with not much luck. She had no idea where he even was in the country, if he was still in England at all. She didn’t have the money to hire someone to find him or even do a lot of the research herself so she had put it to the back of her mind and hoped that one day she would get in contact with him somehow.

It may have been Mikey’s homework assignment or the fact that Jamie was getting married that had brought the idea back into Jamie’s mind but whatever it was, the idea wouldn’t leave her alone. Denny was the only family that she had left apart from Mikey and she would love it if she got to see him again, at least once. Part of her even hoped that he would want to attend her wedding since the only relative that she would have there would be Mikey and it would be nice if she could have her older brother there to support her.

Dani as always, was extremely supportive of the idea and was the one to suggest that Jamie try finding her brother on social media. The idea hadn't even entered Jamie’s head before and she wondered if it would actually be that simple. Maybe Denny would have changed his name or maybe he went by a totally different name now or not even have social media at all, but she supposed that it wouldn’t hurt to try.

One evening, a few days after the idea was suggested when Dani was putting Mikey to bed, Jamie pulled out her phone and decided to try and search for her brother. If typing his name in didn’t work, she could always try and find some of their relatives or childhood friends that might know how to get in contact with him. She didn’t have much hope but there was always a chance.

Jamie typed in Denny’s full name into the search bar of the first social media app her thumb found ‘Dennis James Taylor’. She scanned through all the results that came up and there were surprisingly many. She held her phone closer to her face and squinted her eyes to try and see the tiny square profile pictures a little better. 

After a few minutes of scanning, she sighed and chuckled to herself. “Ya really thought it was going to be that easy did ya Jamie?” Jamie mumbled to herself before she typed ‘Denny Taylor’ into the search bar instead. This search gave surprisingly less results and two profiles from the top, there he was. The profile picture was small, and Jamie couldn’t really make out his face but something in her gut told her that was him. Her heart suddenly picked up its pace and a thin layer of sweat coated her palms. She clicked on the profile and the picture became bigger and then there was no denying that that was him. Stood clad in builders’ boots, grey joggers, a high vis vest with no shirt on underneath and a hard hat was Denny Taylor. Even though Jamie hadn't seen him since she was 8, he still held a striking resemblance to her and Mikey and the infamous Taylor curls were visibly escaping his bright yellow hard hat.

As her thumb hovered over the message button, a sudden a wave of anxiety hit her. What is he didn’t want her to contact him, what if that’s why he’s never contacted her before, what if he doesn’t want to see her? All these thoughts swirled through her mind as she contemplated whether or not to message him. Would it be weird if she just messaged him out of the blue or not? There was no other way to get in contact with him. But what would she even say if she did message him?

A few minutes passed before she finally clicked on the message button and a few more minutes passed as she finally constructed what to say. After many attempts at writing multiple different messages, she opted for:

‘Hey Denny, It’s Jamie, your sister. Don’t know if you remember me, it’s been a while. Sorry for just messaging you out of the blue like this but I hope you’re doing well, I can't believe I’ve actually found you. I’d love to have a catch up sometime if you’d like. I totally understand if not though, no hard feelings. Can't believe how much you still look the same! The Taylor genes were strong, weren’t they?’

Jamie took a deep breath in before she hit send. She then locked her phone and sat it on the side of the sofa before picking up her book. Her eyes scanned over the pages, but she never read a single word, her mind was too busy thinking about all the possible scenarios that could happen now that she had messaged her brother. 

Just as her mind was spiralling, her phone pinged which pulled her away from her thoughts and to her phone that was resting face down next to her. ‘It couldn’t be that’s impossible’ Jamie thought as she shook the idea out of her head that Denny would reply to her so fast. But as she picked up her phone, there on the screen was a message from him.

‘Holy shit Jamie, is that really you? I mean it must be you, you look exactly the same as you did 20 years ago, the Taylor genes are strong! And of course I’d love to have a catch up, I'm free now if you are. Just give me a call, my number is 07722846902’

Jamie froze. He wants her to ring him now? What does she say? She hadn't thought this far ahead. She panicked for a second before she took a deep breath in and let it out in a long slow puff of air. If she doesn’t do it now, she’ll over think it and work herself up so, she clicked on his number and hit call with her trembling thumb.

Dani came out of Mikey’s room once he had fallen asleep to hear Jamie talking to someone on the phone. Dani furrowed her eyebrows and crept towards the living room, not wanting to interrupt her fiancé. 

As she got closer, she heard Jamie laughing and not her usual fake phone laugh either, her actually laugh that she did when she found something funny. Dani’s eyebrows furrowed further as she tried to figure out who Jamie would be talking to. Sometimes she would be on the phone with Hannah or Owen but not very often as Jamie saw them every day at work so didn’t really need to speak with them over the phone that often. The odd time she would be called by some of Mikey’s friends’ parents but that’s when she would use her fake phone laugh, and she would often roll her eyes at Dani as someone on the other end of the phone told her about some parent gossip from school. 

“Okay, right, yeah, I’ll talk to ya tomorrow, just text me whenever you’re free” Dani heard Jamie say so she felt that it was appropriate to enter the room then as Jamie was finishing up the call.

“Holy shit” Jamie said as she turned around to face Dani who was awkwardly stood in the middle of their living room, “That was Denny”.

“Denny?” Dani asked, her eyebrows furrowing even more, “How?”.

Jamie was beaming as she ran her hands through her hair and let out a shaky breath. Dani could see the pure joy on her fiancé’s face so she knew the call must have gone well, she was just confused how it had happened in the first place.

“I did what ya said, I just typed his name into Facebook, and there he was. It was that easy. Why hadn't I thought of doing that before? Then I just messaged him and then he said to call him so I did and… well, Dani, it was great” Jamie said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Dani’s neck, “Thank you so much, it would have never happened if it weren’t for you and ya clever ideas”.

Dani just giggled as she held Jamie close and ran her hands up and down her back, “It was nothing to do with me, you’re the one who actually reached out. That’s a pretty big deal, baby. I’m just so glad it went well”.

“It did, he’s great. He’s just how I remember him too” Jamie said, the excitement evident in her voice as she pulled away to sit on the sofa and motioned for Dani to join her. “He lives only a few towns over from where we were born, he moved back up there after he got out of the system. He’s got a job in construction; he says he really likes it. He’s got a girlfriend too, her name’s Liz. He had no clue Mikey even existed; he was pretty shocked when I told him everything”.

Dani listened intently as Jamie spoke and she reached out to hold her hand as she did.

“I told him about you, he said he can't wait to meet ya and Mikey too” Jamie continued, smiling widely at Dani as she spoke. “He said he even tried to find me when he turned 18 but he couldn’t as no one would tell him anything about me so he waited until I was 18 but he still couldn’t find anything, probably because I left for London”.

“At least you know he tried to find you, like you tried to find him, that’s got to feel good right?” Dani said softly as she squeezed Jamie’s hand. She knew that Jamie had been worried that Denny might not have tried to look for her like she did him all those years ago but now that she knew he did, it must have been a relief for her, to know that he had still cared about her.

“Yeah, it feels really good. Kinda pissed no one helped us at the time but at least y’know, we found each other now, I suppose that’s all that matters” Jamie said as a single stray tear trickled down her face.

“Come here” Dani said opening up her arms which Jamie happily fell into, “I’m so happy for you baby, and I’m so proud of you. I love you so much”.

“I love you too, baby” Jamie whispered back as she tightly squeezed Dani in her arms and kissed her cheek.

A few months had passed before Jamie, Mikey and Denny were able to meet in person. They had spoken over the phone a few times and Jamie had facetimed him a couple of times so that he could see what her and Mikey looked like, but they couldn’t wait to see each other in person. Denny had offered to get the train down to London to visit them as he had never been before and had always wanted to visit.

“Fuck, I’m so nervous” Jamie said as she held on tightly to Dani’s hand as they waited in the train station to meet Denny.

“I know baby, it’s a big step but you’ll be fine. I bet he’s just as nervous as you are but I’m always here, okay?” Dani said as she gave Jamie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. 

Jamie just nodded and looked down at Mikey who she had dressed in the nicest clothes that she could find in his wardrobe. “How are ya feeling, kiddo?” Jamie asked as she ruffled his hair.

“Excited” Mikey said as he looked up at her with a wide smile.

“Yeah, me too” Jamie said as she placed her hand on his shoulder to give it a little squeeze.

Not long later a man fitting Denny’s description walked towards them and Jamie gave Mikey’s shoulder another squeeze.

“Hey” Denny said as he came within hearing distance.

“Hey” Jamie said smiling nervously as she didn’t exactly know what she should do next. Do they hug? Do they shake hands? Do they just say hi?

When Denny closed the gap between them and stood in front of them, Jamie had to crane her neck to look up at him. He was easily past 6 foot and she wondered for a second why she hadn't been blessed with the height gene. Mikey was already catching up to her and by the looks of Denny, by the time he reached 14 he would be towering over her and Dani.

“You’re a lot taller than I remember” Jamie blurted out nervously.

Denny just laughed, “And you’re about the exact same height as I remember”.

Jamie just laughed and rolled her eyes playfully as Denny’s joke had helped to ease her nerves a little. In a way it had felt like nothing had changed. She remembered joking with him like this when they were kids and in a way she felt relived, although 20 years may have passed, they were still similar people.

“Looks like you’ll be catching up to her in a bit, kiddo” Denny said looking down and smiling at Mikey who had to stand back a little bit in order to look up at his older brother.

“Will I be as tall as you when I'm older?” Mikey asked as he looked up at Denny and squinted his eyes a little through his glasses.

“Sure hope so” Denny said back smiling. “It’s nice to finally meet you both” he continued and looked at Jamie then back at Mikey, taking in their appearances.

“Yeah, you too” Jamie said smiling softly. It all felt a little surreal. The man stood in front of her was so different to the little boy that she knew but in so many ways he was still the exact same.

“Oh, and erm, this is Dani” Jamie said, suddenly remembering that Dani was stood next to her.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you” Dani said, smiling brightly up at Denny in hopes of easing his nerves a little.

“Hey, yeah you, too. I've heard a lot about you” Denny said offering his hand to Dani who happily took it.

“Yeah, me too” Dani said smiling widely then looking over at Jamie who had a toothy grin plastered on her face as she watched her older brother and fiancé meet for the first time.

“So, shall we go and get a drink or something, there’s a nice little café around the corner we could go to if ya want?” Jamie said as she took Mikey’s hand in hers.

“Sounds good” Denny said smiling down at Jamie then letting her lead the way.

They spent the rest of the morning sat in the café trying to catch up on the past 20 years. Dani had originally planned to sit on a different table and read a book so that Jamie, Mikey and Denny could enjoy each other’s company and bond but both Denny and Jamie had insisted that she join them. Denny had said that she was part of the family so was welcome to join them if she wanted to.

They then showed him around London a little. Denny had only come for the day, but they tried to show him as much as they could, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He had told Jamie that he hadn't left the north of England before, so he was grateful for the tour and the reason to visit. At the end of the day, Jamie asked Denny if he would like to attend their wedding. She had asked Dani the day before if it was okay to invite him if everything went well and Dani was more than excited to have him attend. Denny was a little taken aback by the invitation but gladly accepted and said he would book the day off work as soon as he got home.

“Today went well, don’t ya think?” Jamie asked as she kissed the skin just below Dani’s collarbone as she played with a strand of blonde hair that was resting on Dani’s shoulder.

“It did” Dani said smiling softly as she kissed the top of Jamie’s head and wrapped her arms tighter around the brunette, “How do you feel?”.

“Good, yeah. Really good actually” Jamie said, relief evident in her voice, “I was so nervous that it would be awkward or that he would have changed so much that I wouldn’t be able to recognise him anymore, but it wasn’t like that at all. I mean yeah sometimes it was a little awkward, but we haven’t seen each other in 20 years so that was expected but Dani, he was just the same kid I remember but like three times the size”.

Dani giggled a little and squeezed Jamie, “He was a lot taller than I had imagined”.

“Right, he didn’t tell me he was that tall. I’m kinda pissed I didn’t get those genes too” Jamie said laughing a little.

“I’m not, I’d have to stand on a chair to kiss you if you were that tall” Dani giggled as she kissed the top of Jamie’s head again, “But I’m so glad it all went well though, baby. I can't imagine how you must be feeling”.

“It feels so good, Dani, so good’ Jamie said as she wiped a tear off of her cheek, “I know it sounds stupid, but I’d missed him. I know we hadn't seen each other for so long but he was always in the back of my mind y’know, and I'm just glad that I got to see him again and know that he’s doing okay”.

“It doesn’t sound stupid at all, baby. He’s your brother, of course you missed him and wanted to know if he was okay” Dani said as she ran her fingers gently through Jamie’s soft curls, “I can't believe how similar you all looked”.

“Mikey’s a spitting image of him, isn’t he?” Jamie chuckled as she wiped her eye again.

“He really is. And the infamous Taylor curls too” Dani said ruffling Jamie’s hair a little which caused Jamie to laugh.

“I’m so glad you came today. I might have actually passed out from the nerves if you hadn't been there” Jamie said as she lifted her head up off Dani’s chest to look at her in the eyes.

“I’m glad I came too, it was really nice to meet Denny, he seems like a great guy” Dani said softly.

“Yeah, he really does, doesn’t he? I’m glad we all turned out alright, despite everything, y’know?” Jamie whispered as she smiled softly up at Dani.

Dani just smiled lovingly at Jamie and gently placed her head back down on her chest again. “I love you” Dani whispered as she buried her nose into Jamie’s hair then kissed the top of her head lovingly.

“I love you too” Jamie whispered back as she allowed her eyes to slowly start to close as the day’s events flashed through her mind.


	20. Wedding Day

It had been a year and a half since Jamie had proposed to Dani. Although they had both wanted to get married as soon as possible, planning a wedding had taken a lot longer than either of them had anticipated. 

Neither of them particularly wanted a huge wedding. For one they didn’t have the money for a huge wedding, but a large extravagant wedding just didn’t feel like them anyway, so they had opted for a small moderate event instead. 

Their biggest challenge initially had been finding a venue that had felt right. The towns nearby had some stunning venues which they had looked at but none of them had felt appropriate for the kind of event that they wanted. Dani had joked that they should just get married at home after they had arrived back after visiting the sixth venue on their list and deciding that they didn’t like it. Every single place that they had visiting had just felt like it had something missing that they couldn’t put their finger on. 

It had been almost a year since Jamie had proposed and they were starting to get a little tired of searching for the right place to get married. Jamie had kept saying that the right place would come along when they least expected it, and as it turns out, she was right.

It was Jamie’s first day back at work after the Christmas break and she was doing the job that she hated the most; shovelling snow. She had started with the most important paths and the main entrance that morning then had moved onto the less important paths, the ones that mainly only she used to get around the grounds. 

She had started in the rose garden and cleared the main path that travelled in a straight line through the garden. Jamie loved the rose garden, and it was by far her most treasured part of the grounds. She had worked tirelessly to get it too how it is now. When she had first started her job at the manor, it was overgrown and all the rose bushes were in a terrible condition but with some hard work and much needed love and affection, she had restored it back to its former glory. Jamie also loved the rose garden for another reason; Dani loved it too. When Jamie had brought Dani to the manor on their second date, Dani had instantly fallen in love with the rose garden and ever since that day, Jamie had tried to bring her to the garden as often as possible. They would have picnics together on the grass or just sit on one of the benches and take in the view. Dani would even lend a helping hand in the garden every now and again too.

Jamie smiled to herself as she remembered all the times that her and Dani had been in the garden together over the years and suddenly an idea popped into her mind as her eyes followed the path that she had just created in the snow. The straight path down the centre of the garden lead directly to an archway at the end of the garden and everything fell into place in Jamie’s mind as she imagined Dani walking down the path that could act as an aisle as she stood in front of the arch that would soon be covered in roses by the spring.

That night Jamie had pitched the idea to Dani who loved it and she didn’t know why neither of them hadn't thought of the idea sooner. Not only would they be getting married in a place that they both loved and that meant something to them, but Jamie would also get to tend to the flowers for the event. Jamie had always wanted to somehow be involved with the flowers for their wedding as that was what she flourished in. She had no idea about catering or venues or anything else related to planning a wedding but flowers, she knew all about those and she knew exactly what Dani liked. 

The wedding plans were then quickly put together after that. Once they had found the right venue, everything else had fallen into place with ease. What had once felt like an impossible challenge had soon turned into the easiest thing in the world as all the pieces started to fall into place. A date was arranged, guests were invited, and outfits were chosen and before they knew it, it was their wedding day.

____

Dani had always wanted to get married in summer as it was her favourite season. The sun always shone, the days were always long, and everything around her seemed to come alive so, when she woke up that morning to see that the sun was shining brightly through the curtains just like she had always hoped that it would on her wedding day, a huge toothy grin spread across her face.

She pulled the sheet over head as she peppered Jamie’s bare neck and shoulder with soft light kisses.

“We’re getting married today, baby” Dani whispered excitedly as her lips found their way to Jamie’s ear.

They had opted for mix between a traditional and a non-traditional wedding. Neither of them was bothered about sticking to any rules but Dani’s Mother had insisted Dani wear the three things a bride should wear for good luck so, they felt obliged to stick to that tradition. They had also stuck to wearing white and they had also stuck to not letting the other see their outfits until the day, but everything else that they had organised had strayed from tradition. Dani and Jamie didn’t really see the point of spending the night before their wedding day apart as they had spent every night together since Dani had moved in, so it seemed unnecessary and neither of them wanted to sleep without the other anyway. They had chosen not to have any bridesmaids or best men, just Mikey who would act as the ring bearer. They had also asked Hannah to officiate their wedding as she meant a lot to the both of them and they both felt that she was the best person for the job.

Jamie let out a soft chuckle as she felt Dani’s lips press against her ear and her soft warm hands trail up and down her naked body. “We are, aren’t we?” Jamie mumbled as she rolled onto her back so that she could see her soon to be wife.

“I can't wait” Dani said as she moved so that she was sat on top of Jamie with the sheet over the top of them, trapping them in their own little bubble.

“Me neither” Jamie said smiling lovingly up at Dani as her long blonde hair fell off of her shoulders and tickled Jamie’s face.

“I love you so much” Dani whispered as she leant forward to connect their lips.

Jamie hummed into the kiss as her hands wondered along Dani’s exposed back. “I love you so much too, baby” Jamie whispered as Dani pulled away.

“Who would have thought that I would have moved to England, started my dream job and met the love of my life all within the space of a month” Dani whispered as she laid down and settled her head onto Jamie’s chest.

“Well, two of those you did in the same day” Jamie said chuckling as her fingers naturally found their way into soft blonde hair.

“That’s true” Dani said giggling, “I was already so nervous that day and then you showed up and I swear my heart has never beat so fast”.

“You did look pretty nervous I have to admit” Jamie said as her fingers played with Dani’s hair and massaged her scalp a little. “I just wanted to give you a hug and tell you that it was all going to be okay, but we had literally just met so I thought that it would have been a little weird” Jamie said chuckling softly, “You know I thought about you all day that day? I couldn’t help but wonder how your day was going, were you sat alone for lunch or did someone sit with you to make you feel welcome, did the kids behave for you, were you thinking about me too?”.

“Really?” Dani asked as she lifted her head a little to look at Jamie who just hummed and nodded, “I thought about you all day too, I couldn’t wait until the end of the day to see you again”.

“Did you purposefully make Mikey lose his jumper just so that I would come in and talk to you?” Jamie chuckled as her hands make their way out of Dani’s hair and onto her back.

“No” Dani said giggling as she remembered searching high and low in her classroom trying to find Mikey’s hidden sweater, “That was all him but I kinda wish that I had thought of that idea, it would have been pretty smooth”.

A few moments of silence fell over the room as Dani and Jamie were lost in thought about how they had first met but Jamie was the first to break the silence as she gently shifted herself out from underneath Dani’s body and made her way into the wardrobe.

Dani watched her intently with knitted eyebrows as she tried to figure out what she was doing.

“I know it might be weird to give you a gift on our wedding day, I don’t really know if that’s a thing people do but, I got you something” Jamie said as she made her way back into bed and under the sheet which was now partly wrapped around Dani’s torso to keep the slight chill in the air off of her warm skin.

“Jamie” Dani said softly as Jamie handed her a heavy box, “You didn’t tell me you were giving me a gift”.

“That’s because it was a surprise. I didn’t exactly know when to give it to you but now seemed like a good time” Jamie said as she shifted closer to Dani so that she that she could put her arm around her.

Dani slowly opened the box then picked up a large book that had ‘The Taylor Family Scrapbook’ written on the front in Jamie’s handwriting. “Jamie” Dani whispered softly as she ran her hand gently over the title.

“Don’t think I’m creepy or anything” Jamie said chuckling softly, “But I’ve kinda saved everything from since we first met. I kept it all in a box under the bed but then I thought that maybe it would be better if I made them into something like this so, well, here it is”.

“Jamie” Dani whispered again as she flicked through the first couple of pages to see restaurant receipts from their early dates, movie tickets and photographs. “I don’t know what to say, baby” Dani said softly as her eyes filled with tears, “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much, I love it”.

“I, erm, I collected too much stuff so I filled an entire book” Jamie said laughing softly as she reached into the box to pull out another book, “But I bought us another one so that we could fill it in together, starting from today onwards”.

“I love you so much, Jamie” Dani said laughing softly as Jamie wiped her tears away with her thumb.

“I love you so much too, baby” Jamie said before connecting her lips with Dani’s.

“Do I have time to look through it?” Dani asked as she pulled away.

“Don’t see why not. We don’t have to be anywhere for at least another hour yet” Jamie said as she settled her head onto Dani’s shoulder as Dani leant back against the headboard so that she could have a good look at the scrapbook.

They sat in bed for half an hour as they read through the book and recalled the numerous dates, trips and adventures that they had been on throughout their almost 5 years together.

“Wow” Jamie whispered as she watched Dani walk down the grand staircase of the manor in her wedding dress, “You look beautiful”.

“So do you” Dani said softly as she did her best to hold in her tears.

Neither of them could stop the wide toothy grins that spread across their faces as they met each other at the bottom of the stairs. Dani had gotten dressed with the help of her Mother and her best friend from back home, whilst Jamie had gotten dressed with the help of Hannah and Mikey had gotten dressed with the help of Owen.

“I don’t want to touch you just in case I ruin ya dress” Jamie giggled softly as she delicately placed her hands on Dani’s hips as she took a closer look at her dress. Dani’s dress was simple and delicate. It was white with lace at the top, a short train at the back, and it hugged her figure in all the right places.

“You won't ruin it” Dani giggled as she pulled Jamie into a hug. “Come here” Dani said as she wrapped her arms softly around Jamie who stood on her tiptoes to accommodate for Dani’s increased height due to the heals that she was wearing, “I don’t want to crumple your shirt though”.

“Yeah, Hannah would probably kill ya. She spent hours ironing it” Jamie chuckled as she stepped out of the embrace to look at Dani again.

“Do a little spin for me” Dani giggled as she took Jamie by the hand and motioned for her to turn around which Jamie did after a playful roll of her eyes. Jamie was wearing a crisp white shirt with loose black trousers which were held up by black suspenders and she was holding her favourite hat in her hand.

“Now you” Jamie said laughing softly as she motioned for Dani to do the same. Dani happily spun herself around slowly so that Jamie could take in her dress before she pulled Jamie into a kiss.

“Where’s Mikey?” Dani asked as she pulled away.

“He’s right here” Owen said as he appeared from down the corridor that led to the kitchen.

Dani and Jamie watched with pride as Mikey, who was now only a few inches away from reaching their height walked towards them dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and suspenders with his black blazer in his hand.

“Oh my god, don’t you look handsome” Jamie said as she pulled Mikey into a hug. “Owen’s done a great job, hasn’t he?” Jamie said, half to Mikey and half to Owen who had stood a few meters away in a black suit that matched Mikey’s.

“I can only take credit for the suit” Owen said as he walked over to the three of them, “The handsomeness is all him, I had nothing to do with that”. “You both look very beautiful by the way” Owen said sincerely as he smiled at Jamie and Dani then helped to put Mikey’s blazer on for him.

“Well, I think we best get going, haven’t we? We’ve got a wedding to attend” Jamie said as she took Dani’s hand then Mikey’s before taking a deep breath and making her way towards the front door.

Jamie took a slow long breath as she stood at the start of the makeshift aisle with Mikey’s hand in hers. As she looked around, her heart swelled with pride at the scene that she had created. The rose bushes were flowering perfectly, the lawn was just the right length and the archway at the end of the aisle was covered in pink roses which were Dani’s favourite. 

“Ready?” Mikey asked as he squeezed Jamie’s hand reassuringly. Mikey had offered to walk Jamie down the aisle even before the wedding had been planned. He didn’t know much about weddings, but he knew that the brides Mum usually walked the bride down the aisle, but he knew Jamie’s Mum wouldn’t have been able to do that so and he thought that he would be the next best thing. 

“Sure am, kiddo” Jamie said softly as she squeezed his hand back, “And thanks for doing this, y’know, I wouldn’t want anyone else walking me down the aisle”. Jamie had always had conflicting thoughts about her wedding day ever since she was little. Although she had never thought that a wedding would be in her future, she had often let her mind wonder about who would walk her down the aisle if that day ever did arrive. She had lived her life mainly on her own with little support from anyone else so she had wondered if anyone would come into her life that would be worthy of such an honour, but then Mikey had showed up and she knew there was no one else who would do the job better.

Mikey just smiled softly as he held out his arm for Jamie to take which she did with a wide grin on her face. She couldn’t believe how much of a gentleman he had turned into and she was pretty sure that she couldn’t have raised a better young man if she had tried. As the soft music began to play, Mikey and Jamie slowly made their way down the aisle arm in arm.

Jamie hated being the centre of attention, so she kept her eyes focused on Hannah who was stood in the archway smiling brightly at her instead of the rows of guests seated on either side of the aisle.

“You look beautiful” Hannah whispered once Jamie had arrived next to her and Mikey had taken his seat next to Owen.

“Thanks” Jamie whispered before she turned around to see Dani stood at the other end of the aisle arm in arm with her Mother. For all of Karen Clayton’s faults, Dani couldn’t have been happier with her walking her down the aisle. It was a moment that she had dreamt about ever since she was a little a girl, although the person at the other end of the aisle was a little different to how she had imagined them to be when she was 6, and she couldn’t believe that it was really happening. As her eyes met Jamie’s they both began to tear up at the feeling of overwhelming happiness.

Jamie watched through slightly watery eyes as her very soon to be wife slowly made her way down the aisle and to say that she looked anything short of perfection would have been a lie. Dani’s smile was wide and bright as the sun illuminated her already piercing blue eyes that were also full of tears. Jamie didn’t think that she had ever seen Dani look quite as happy as she did in that moment, and she didn’t think that she had ever felt happier either. This was a moment that she knew she would never forget.

“You look stunning” Jamie whispered as Dani let go of her Mother and stood next to her.

“So do you, baby” Dani whispered back as her bright smile remained fixed into place.

“Ready?” Jamie whispered as she took hold of Dani’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my entire life” Dani whispered back as she picked Jamie’s hand up and placed a soft kiss on the back of it before she turned to face Hannah.

The ceremony went as smoothly as they had hoped. Both tried not to cry too much whilst reading their vows to each other, even though it was hard. Jamie definitely struggled more than Dani did but once their vows were over, Hannah very excitedly and proudly pronounced them married.

“Thank you” Jamie whispered in Dani’s ear as they swayed to the soft music playing in the background.

The evening was coming to a close and everyone had made their way to the makeshift dancefloor that was the main lawn for a final dance. The place was dimly lit by fairy lights and a few spotlights that were dotted around the gardens as well as the last few ounces of light coming from the setting sun.

“For what?” Dani said, pulling her head back a little so that she could look into Jamie’s eyes as they danced.

“The best day of my life” Jamie stated simply as she spun Dani around.

“The best day of your life?” Dani said as she let go of Jamie’s hands and placed her hands on her shoulders. 

“Yeah” Jamie said smiling widely as she placed her hands on Dani’s hips as they continued swaying to the music.

“It’s been the best day of my life too” Dani said softly as she rested her forehead against Jamie’s.

“I don’t want it to end” Jamie said as she closed her eyes and took in the smell of Dani’s perfume and the recently mowed grass that they were stood on.

“Me neither” Dani whispered as she dipped her head to kiss Jamie’s lips softly.

“Can you believe that we’re married?” Jamie said as she pulled away from the kiss but kept her lips near Dani’s.

“I can” Dani chuckled as she stepped back and spun Jamie around gently. “I’m finally a Taylor” Dani said smiling widely as Jamie came back around to face her.

“You are,” Jamie said smirking and biting her softly as she placed her hands back on Dani’s waist “Mrs Taylor”.

“You know the kids in my class wouldn’t stop calling me Mrs Taylor after I told them that we were getting married” Dani said giggling.

“It suits you” Jamie whispered as she pulled Dani closer into her, “You’re the best damn Taylor I’ve ever seen”.

Dani laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck and pulled her closer, “I love you so much”.

“I love you too” Jamie whispered as she squeezed Dani tight, trying to translate the exact moment into a memory that she could treasure forever.


	21. Wedding Night

[Mature Content]

“Oh, wow” Jamie said as she opened the door to their hotel room for the night and stepped inside.

The manor had one wing dedicated to a small selection of hotel rooms which Dani and Jamie had decided to stay in for their wedding night. Since Jamie was an employee of the manor, the room for the night was a gift from her boss Henry Wingrave who owned the manor and Hannah had taken it upon herself to decorate the room for them to make their one night away from home as special as it could be.

Hannah and Owen had kindly offered to look after Mikey for the night and if they were being honest, they were looking forward to the sleepover just as much as Mikey was. Everyone had started mourning the fact that Mikey was growing up and was no longer the little boy that they all first met but a fast-approaching teenager who would be going to high school the following year. Dani and Jamie were spending as much time with him as possible before he turned into a moody teenager who wanted nothing to do with them and Hannah and Owen were doing the same, so the sleepover was a perfect chance for them to do so.

“Hannah really went all out didn’t she?” Dani said as she followed Jamie into the room and quickly scanned her eyes around the interior.

“Yeah” Jamie chuckled as she picked up the bottle of champagne out of a bucket of ice on one of the bedside tables.

Hannah had lovingly created a heart shape on the bed out of rose petals, placed a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice on the bedside table and left a selection of snacks in a hamper as well as hanging a few banners and balloons around their room that read ‘Just Married’.

“Chocolate covered strawberries, huh?” Jamie chuckled with a raised eyebrow as she picked one up to inspect it. 

“She really did go all out” Dani said giggling as she walked over to Jamie who was holding the strawberry out in front of her.

“Want a bite?” Jamie asked with a small smirk on her lips as she wiggled the strawberry around a little in the air.

Dani just laughed softly as she closed the small gap between her and Jamie and placed her hands on Jamie’s hips to steady herself as she reached up to take a bite of the strawberry. But just when her teeth almost closed around the fruit, Jamie pulled it away.

“Hey!” Dani giggled as she tried to follow the strawberry Jamie was dangling just a little out of reach from her.

“Sorry” Jamie chuckled as she placed a soft kiss to Dani’s cheek. “Here” Jamie said lowering the strawberry back down so that Dani could take a bite but just before Dani’s teeth got the chance, Jamie pulled it away again.

“Stop it!” Dani giggled as she playfully pushed Jamie back little.

“Sorry” Jamie said laughing softly as she brought the strawberry back down again and dangled it in front of Dani’s face, “Here, I’ll hold it still now, I promise”.

Dani narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Jamie as she tentatively leaned closer to the fruit but just as she was about to take a bite again, Jamie pulled it away from her and took a bite out of it herself.

“Jamie!” Dani said in shock as she playfully hit Jamie’s arm.

“You were taking too long” Jamie said chuckling as she licked the stray piece of chocolate from the corner of her mouth.

“You’ve got a little…” Dani said as she motioned to the chocolate on the other side of Jamie’s mouth with her finger.

“Where?” Jamie asked with a raised eyebrow as her dark green eyes twinkled in the moonlight spilling into the room through the window.

“Just there” Dani said as she pointed to the corner of Jamie’s lip.

“Here?” Jamie asked playfully as her finger wiped nowhere near where Dani had pointed.

“No!” Dani said giggling softly as her arms came up so that her hands could rest on Jamie’s shoulders.

“Here?” Jamie asked again as her finger moved slightly in the opposite direction.

“No!” Dani said giggling even more as she knew the game that Jamie was playing. “Let me get it for you” Dani said softly as her hands came up to cup Jamie’s face and her lips gently kissed the corner of Jamie’s lips to rid them of the tiny piece of chocolate.

“Better?” Jamie asked as Dani pulled away from her lips.

“Much” Dani whispered as she stared into the dark green eyes that she had become so familiar with. 

“Thanks” Jamie whispered as she stared back into Dani’s bright blue eyes that she constantly found herself getting lost in on a daily basis.

“I love you, Mrs Taylor” Dani whispered as her thumbs softly traced over Jamie’s cheekbones.

“I love you too, Mrs Taylor” Jamie replied, her voice barely audible as the weight of the day suddenly came crashing down onto her. She knew the significance the day held, but she had been so caught up with just enjoying herself that she had had barely any time to just soak in that she and Dani were actually married now. They were legally bound together for the rest of their lives.

Dani smiled widely as she let go of Jamie’s face and wrapped her arms around her neck to pull her wife into a loving embrace.

“I can't believe you’re my wife” Jamie whispered as she buried her face into Dani’s neck and softly kissed the skin there.

“I can't believe it either” Dani whispered back as she held Jamie tightly in her arms.

“God, I love you so much Dani” Jamie chuckled as she bent down and lifted Dani up by her thighs and spun her around a few times.

“I love you too” Dani giggled as she clung onto Jamie’s neck as she spun them around and then led them over to the bed.

“I know you look absolutely stunning in this dress, Poppins, but do you mind if I take it off ya?” Jamie asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed with Dani in her lap as her fingers played with the zip on the back of Dani’s wedding dress.

“Be my guest” Dani giggled as her fingers found their way into Jamie’s hair.

Jamie lovingly kissed Dani’s lips before her fingers tugged on the zip to expose her back and as soon as the zip was pulled all the way down, Jamie’s hands found their way underneath the lace and onto soft warm familiar skin.

Dani deepened the kiss when she felt Jamie’s hands wonder onto her back and explore the area with delicate fingers.

“Can I?” Jamie asked as her hands played with the material of Dani’s dress that was around her shoulders.

Dani just hummed and nodded her head lightly as her lips continued kissing Jamie’s.

Jamie gently slipped the dress off of Dani’s shoulders and down her arms until the top of the dress pooled around Dani’s waist.

“You’re so beautiful” Jamie whispered as Dani pulled away from her lips for second to catch her breath. Jamie then took the opportunity to place gentle loving kisses along Dani’s collarbones, chest and up her neck whilst Dani’s lips weren’t on hers.

Dani just smiled widely as she placed her hands on Jamie’s shoulders and pushed her down onto the bed as her lips found their way back to Jamie’s neck. Jamie moaned quietly as Dani bit lightly on the spot that she knew Jamie loved and pinned her hands above her head.

After Dani had left a few small marks on Jamie’s neck, she let go of her hands and moved from off her lap so that she could stand in front of her. Dani then shimmied out of the rest of her dress that was constricting her movements and let it fall down her legs and pool around her feet whilst Jamie watched her, propped up on the bed by one elbow.

“Fuck” Jamie whispered as Dani climbed back on top of her, clad in only a matching set of white lace underwear.

“You like it?” Dani whispered as she watched Jamie’s dark twinkling eyes scan over her body before her lips reconnected with Jamie’s, “Bought them especially for you for tonight”.

Jamie just hummed into the kiss as her hands roamed every inch of Dani’s warm skin that she could fine, “You look fucking stunning, baby”.

Dani just giggled as her hands tangled in Jamie’s once neatly styled hair which was quickly turning wild and messy, “Thank you, baby. Now can I see you?”.

Jamie just chuckled and sat up a little so that she would be able to take her now crumbled shirt off, “Don’t think the view will be quite as good, Hannah insisted that I wear my nude-coloured sports bra so that you wouldn’t be able to see it through my white shirt”.

Dani just laughed loudly and pulled away from the kiss that she was about to go in for. “I love Hannah so much” Dani giggled as she started to unbutton Jamie’s shirt, “And I don’t care what you have on underneath, I’ll just take it off anyway. Plus, I just want to see my beautiful wife”.

Jamie just let out a soft chuckle at Dani’s comment and watched as her shirt was being unbuttoned for her. Jamie had never been self-conscious about her body necessarily, but she never believed that she was beautiful, not until Dani had come along. Dani looked at her and touched her as if she was the most precious thing on the plant and Dani’s constant compliments and reassurance had been enough to change her mind. In Dani’s eyes Jamie was the most beautiful person in the world and now Jamie was starting to believe that too, although to her, Dani was the most beautiful person in the world, but she was starting to see herself the way Dani did.

Dani wasted no time in slipping Jamie’s suspenders off of her shoulders and discarding her shirt across the room before she pushed Jamie back onto the bed and started to unbutton her trousers. Within a minute Dani was tugging them off of Jamie’s legs and throwing them absentmindedly onto the floor as she climbed back on top of Jamie.

“Hey” Jamie whispered just before Dani’s lips met hers again. “I just want to say thank you for today, just in case I forget later. I’m guessing you plan on tiring me out so I just wanted to say it now whilst I have the chance” Jamie said chuckling a little as her hands rested on Dani’s thighs, “Today has been the most incredible day of my life and I’d never thought that I’d ever get married, let alone find someone half as amazing as you, so I just wanted to let you know that before you have ya wicked way with me and make me forget my name”.

Dani just laughed softly as she pulled Jamie up by her arm so that she was in a sitting position with Dani still sat on her lap. “Today has been the most incredible day of my life too, baby” Dani whispered as she cupped Jamie’s face in her hands, “I always thought that I’d get married and live an ordinary life in Iowa with a husband and a couple of kids and I’d live my life regretting it all but ever since I met you that’s the only thing that I’ve ever wanted to do. All I want is to live an ordinary, boring, normal, beautiful life with you and Mikey and spend the rest of forever with you. It’s the life I’d thought I’d hate but it seems to be the most wonderful thing in the world, and I don’t want anything else from my time on this earth”.

Both of them wiped away the few stray tears that had fallen down the other’s faces with their thumbs as they sat and stared at each other with silly grins on their faces for a moment.

“I can't tell you how in love with you I am” Jamie whispered as she placed her hands under Dani’s thighs and picked her up.

“Well… show me then” Dani whispered with a small smirk on her lips as Jamie knelt down in the middle of the bed.

“Oh, Poppins, I plan on doing just that and a lot more to you tonight” Jamie said chuckling softly as she laid Dani down in the middle of the rose petals on the duvet and climbed on top of her.

Jamie reached up to grab a pillow as her lips met Dani’s and then she lifted Dani’s head up gently and placed the pillow underneath. 

Dani smiled into the kiss at the considerate gesture which caused their teeth to bang together a little.

Dani could never get over how safe and loved Jamie always made her feel, especially during sex. Dani had dreaded the intimate act and expected it to be uncomfortable and awkward but with Jamie it wasn’t anything like she had imagined it to be at all. Sex with Jamie was enjoyable and exhilarating and pleasurable, and a great way to connect with each other and show how much they loved and adored the other. Even from her first night with Jamie, Dani marvelled in just how right it all felt and not just the sex part, but how right it felt just to be intimate with Jamie. The way Jamie always put her hand behind her head if she pushed her against a wall so that she didn’t hurt herself, the way they rubbed shampoo in each other’s hair and washed each other’s backs in the shower or the way she would always brush Jamie’s hair in the mornings for her if it was being unruly. Being intimate with Jamie just came naturally to Dani and she adored it.

Jamie took her time, placing slow loving open-mouthed kisses on every inch of Dani’s skin that she could find. Every movement, every action and every kiss had a purpose; to show Dani just how much she loved her. 

Dani entertained Jamie’s slow and loving method at first but eventually she became impatient and her hips started rocking up in search of just an ounce of relief.

“Jamie” Dani pleaded as Jamie’s lips ghosted over the top of her underwear, “Please”.

Jamie just chuckled softly, and as her hot breath tickled the skin on the bottom of Dani’s stomach she began to writhe under Jamie’s weight. Jamie then placed a soft delicate kiss just underneath Dani’s bellybutton as she hooked her fingers underneath the soaked white lace and gently tugged them down Dani’s legs. 

Dani watched intently with hungry eyes as Jamie very slowly pulled her underwear down her legs then discarded them on the floor behind her. Dani then let out a soft slow breath as Jamie looked up at her from in between her legs with eyes dark with desire and a small smirk plastered on her lips. Dani watched as Jamie got comfy on the bed then placed her legs over her shoulders and when Jamie finally placed a single kiss onto her clit, Dani let out a soft moan of relief as her head fell back onto the pillow below her.

“Jamie” Dani whispered quietly as Jamie ran her tongue through her wet folds and her hands instinctively found their way into Jamie’s hair.

Jamie just hummed as she felt Dani’s nails dig into her scalp softly as she pulled her face in closer to her and the hum caused Dani to let out a loud moan.

Jamie’s mouth quickly got to work licking and sucking as she sensed Dani becoming slightly impatient at her extremely slow actions. Part of her wanted the night to last forever but Jamie knew that Dani desperately needed her, and she wasn’t going to deny her that privilege. 

“Oh, god, Jamie” Dani breathed out as she felt Jamie slip a single finger inside her.

Dani instantly matched the slow pace Jamie started and whispered a quiet “More” as she did so.

Jamie complied with Dani’s request and added a second finger which only caused Dani’s grip on her hair to tighten as she let out a loud breathy moan.

Jamie’s mouth continued to lick and suck on Dani’s clit as her fingers increased their pace and it wasn’t long before Dani’s thighs were tightening around Jamie’s head and Dani was calling out her name as one of her hands tangled in her own hair whilst her back arched off the bed.

Jamie helped Dani ride out her orgasm for as long as possible before she climbed back up Dani’s body to meet her lips.

Dani’s hands cupped around Jamie’s face as she pulled Jamie into a heated kiss and as she did so, she moaned at the taste herself on Jamie’s tongue.

“Can you go again?” Jamie whispered as she pulled away from Dani’s lips for a second.

Dani just nodded into the kiss and whispered, “Just give me a second though”.

Jamie chuckled and whispered a soft, “Okay” before she resumed their heated kiss.

“Did you bring anything with you?” Dani asked a moment later as she drew away from the kiss in order to catch her breath.

Jamie just raised her eyebrow and pulled back a little to look into Dani’s eyes. “As a matter of fact, I did” Jamie chuckled, “Didn’t know if you’d want to use anything but I brought something just in case”.

Dani just drew her bottom lip between her teeth and dug her nails into Jamie’s back.

“Want me to get it?” Jamie asked as she began to climb off the bed.

“Yeah” Dani whispered as she watched Jamie place a quick kiss on her cheek then go to find her overnight bag.

A minute later Jamie came back with an all too familiar black box in her hand and just the sight of the box alone caused a new wave of desire to run through Dani’s body and settle in between her legs.

Dani just smirked a little as Jamie climbed back onto the bed and straddled her. She then cupped Jamie’s face with her hands and brought her down into a slow heated kiss.

“Want me to wear it or you?” Jamie whispered before her lips traced along Dani’s jawline and down her neck.

“You” Dani moaned as Jamie bit into the sensitive spot on her neck.

Jamie let out a breathy moan then moved her lips down to Dani’s collarbones. She then sat up, opened the box and started to put the strap-on on herself.

Dani watched her with dark eyes as Jamie fiddled with the staps and secured them around herself before she coated the toy with a thin layer of lube.

“You ready?” Jamie whispered as she settled herself between Dani’s legs.

Dani just bit her lip and nodded enthusiastically as she pulled Jamie down on top of her.

Jamie just chuckled softly as she fell on top of Dani and caught herself with one hand.

Jamie then took hold of Dani’s hands and placed them on the bed above her and held them in place with her left hand as she connected their lips.

Dani’s hips eagerly rose off the mattress in search of some friction as Jamie’s tongue continued to explore her mouth.

Sensing her growing frustration, Jamie reached down with her right hand and carefully guided the toy to Dani’s entrance and pushed it in a little.

Dani gasped as she felt the toy enter her and her hands tried to lift up from where Jamie had them pinned down to roam Jamie’s back and pull her closer, but Jamie’s grip tightened, and her right hand came to aid her left. Jamie held Dani’s hands in hers and interlocked their fingers together as she continued to press them down into the mattress as she slid the toy all the way into Dani.

Dani moaned loudly at not only the sensation of the toy inside her but Jamie holding her hands and keeping them pinned above her head. Dani loved when Jamie did this to her as it drove her wild not being able to touch Jamie how she wanted to, and it drove Jamie wild too. They had done a little experimenting with other things that would tie Dani’s hands together since she enjoyed the feeling so much, but she never liked it as much as Jamie pinning them above her head. There was just something about Jamie having control over her that drove Dani crazy.

Once Jamie had let Dani become accustomed to the toy inside of her, she started moving her hips at a slow and steady pace which Dani began to match.

“Faster” Dani whispered as her legs came up and wrapped themselves around Jamie’s hips and the change in angle caused both of them to let out a loud moan into each other’s mouths.

Jamie could feel her own orgasm building as she pushed Dani closer to hers with an increase in pace. She watched as Dani’s eyelids fluttered shut, her head fall back in pleasure and her hands grip hers tighter as her hips kept picking up their pace.

“Jamie” Dani moaned as her thighs closed around Jamie’s hips tighter “Don’t stop”.

“No plans on doing that, baby” Jamie whispered as a small smirk crossed her lips.

“I’m so close, Jamie” Dani whispered as her nails dug into Jamie’s hands just enough to cause a little bit of pain, but Jamie loved it, “Please, don’t stop, you feel so good”.

“Tell me how good I feel, baby” Jamie whispered as she left hot open-mouthed kisses along Dani’s jawline and neck.

“Fuck… Jamie, you feel so good… inside of me, baby… so good” Dani managed to get out in between loud breathy moans as her hands fought with Jamie’s to be let go so that they could wrap around her.

Jamie complied with Dani’s hands and let them go and as soon as she did so, they instantly wrapped around her back as Dani clung onto her for dear life as she reached her peak.

The loud filthy moan Dani let out coupled with the friction from toy stimulating her too and Dani’s nails scraping down her back caused Jamie to reach her orgasm shortly after Dani.

Dani collapsed back onto the bed and Jamie collapsed on top of her with her hips still bucking lazily to move the toy in and out of Dani.

“Fuck” Dani breathed out as her grip around Jamie loosened and her hands started to rub calming circles into her back, “I don’t think I could ever get tired of that”.

Jamie let out a soft chuckle as she placed lazy kisses onto Dani’s neck, “Me neither”.

“Round 2?” Dani whispered cheekily as her hands cupped Jamie’s face to bring her into a kiss.

“Fuck” Jamie chuckled before her lips connected with Dani’s. “Maybe just give me a second to catch my breath, yeah?” Jamie said laughing as she pulled away from the kiss.

“You won't need to do much of the work for what I have in mind” Dani whispered into Jamie’s ear as she bit her earlobe softly before rolling them over so that she could straddle Jamie.


	22. Moving House

It had been just over 2 weeks since Dani and Jamie’s wedding day. They had decided not to go on their honeymoon that year as they wanted to save up for a deposit on a house. They preferred for all three of them to go somewhere instead which would be more money but worth it. Both Dani and Jamie had seen how excited Mikey had been when they all went to Iowa a few years back and they had been saving money to hopefully go on holiday again with him, but first they wanted to buy a house.

Even in the early days of their relationship they had talked about having more children together and the same topic of conversation had come up throughout their 5 years together and they had now decided that it was time to act on their plans to have another child. 

Their flat had been big enough for the three of them but since Mikey was getting older and they wanted to have a baby together, they had realised that their little flat above the pub just wouldn’t be sufficient enough for their growing family, so they had decided that it was the right time to invest in a house. Mikey’s bedroom was tiny, and he hardly had enough room for his wardrobe let along the drum kit that they had bought him as he so desperately wanted to learn how to play. As a result, it was stuck in their living room and driving Jamie up the walls so when Jamie and Dani had first mentioned the idea of moving to Mikey, he was all for it. A bigger room with space to put his beloved drum kit and maybe even a bigger bed, Mikey could see no issues with the proposal, and neither could Dani and Jamie.

They had spent a lot of their time after their wedding had been planned, looking for houses and going to viewings. They had thought that since planning their wedding had been such a difficult process to begin with, looking for a house to buy would be even harder but as it turns out, it wasn’t. They both had very similar tastes when it came to houses and they both looked for the same types of things that they wanted out of a house so finding properties to view had been a piece of cake. 

They had already viewed 5 houses that they liked and were considering purchasing before they had gotten married but a week after they had become wives, Dani stumbled upon one that she had instantly fallen in love with whilst taking the wrong turning on her way home from dropping Jamie off at work one morning. It had been a drive that she did often and knew like the back of her hand but one morning as she was humming along to the radio in Jamie’s truck, she accidentally took the wrong turning and ended up down a small side road which only a handful of houses along it and right at the end was a moderately sized brick house covered in ivy. Dani parked up outside of it when she saw the ‘For Sale’ sign stood in the decent sized garden and immediately called up the estate agent to book a viewing. There was just something about that house that she had instantly fallen in love with and she quickly took a photo and sent it to Jamie.

That evening with Jamie and Mikey in tow, they all viewed the house together. It was owned by an old lady who was moving into a care home as she was struggling to keep on top of all of the house’s maintenance so it was a little run down but nothing that they wouldn’t be able to fix and it was even below their budget too. As soon as Jamie and Mikey had seen they house, they too fell in love with it just as much as Dani had done so, they threw caution to the wind and put in an offer. 

Jamie had been the one to get the phone call at work as Dani couldn’t answer her phone as she was at the options with Mikey getting new glasses as he had broken his old pair. For the rest of the day, she had kept the news to herself, although Hannah and Owen had suspected that something had happened due to the extremely large grin plastered on her face for the rest of the afternoon. Jamie had then finished work and made her way to the estate agents to pick up the keys to their new home.

“Hey, baby” Dani said softly as she greeted Jamie as soon as she walked into the apartment, “You’re late home”.

“Yeah sorry, Hannah kept me talking” Jamie chuckled as she hung up her jacket and kicked off her boots.

“I’ve missed you” Dani whispered as she wrapped her arms around Jamie tightly and kissed her neck.

“Missed you too, baby” Jamie said softly as she picked Dani up and spun her around.

Dani just giggled as she let Jamie spin them around a few times before walking her over to the couch.

“Mikey?” Jamie called as she carefully sat Dani down on the sofa.

“Yeah?” Mikey called from his bedroom.

“Can you come here for a second please?” Jamie called back, “You’re not in trouble I promise”.

Mikey emerged from his room a few seconds later with a confused frown on his face as Jamie motioned for him to sit next to Dani on the sofa.

“You look very handsome, by the way” Jamie complimented as she saw the new glasses sat on Mikey’s face then she took the opportunity to ruffle his hair as he bent down to take a seat, “Very grown up”.

“They are, aren’t they” Dani said with a wide smile on her face as Mikey’s cheeks turned a pale shade of red at the attention that was being directed at him.

“Okay, erm, just sit tight for a second, I’ll be back” Jamie said quickly as she disappeared back down the stairs to her truck, leaving a very confused Dani and Mikey sat together on the sofa.

Jamie came back through the front door a minute later and placed the picnic hamper that once hid the keys Jamie and Mikey had given to Dani when they had asked her to move in with them, on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“A picnic?” Mikey asked as he furrowed his brow even more in confusion.

“Not quite” Jamie said with a soft chuckled, “Open it”.

Dani just looked up at her wife with pure confusion on her face, but she lifted the lid anyway.

Inside the hamper was two small boxes, each having either ‘Dani’ or ‘Mikey’ written on the top.

“Go on, pick them up” Jamie said excitedly as she watched the pair just stare at the boxes.

“I’m so confused” Mikey said as he picked up his box and shook it a little.

Dani copied Mikey’s actions and picked up the box with her name scrawled on top of it in Jamie’s handwriting.

“Okay” Jamie said as she smiled widely down at Dani and Mikey who were staring their boxes with the same confused expression on their faces, “You can open them y’know”.

Mikey and Dani both let out a soft chuckled before they opened the lid of their respective boxes and Jamie watched as confusion fell over their faces for a second before realisation set in.

“Are these what I think they are?” Dani asked, not letting her voice show the excitement that she was feeling just in case her guess was wrong.

Jamie nodded as she bit her light slightly to stop the growing grin on her face.

“It's ours?” Dani asked as her eyes widened in shock.

“It sure is” Jamie said as she gave into the wide grin and let it take over her face.

Dani jumped up from where she was sat and wrapped her arms as tight as she could around Jamie’s neck as she let out a few giddy noises of excitement.

“Wait, the house is ours?” Mikey asked as he picked up the set of keys that were sat in his box that had a keyring attached to it with a picture of him Dani and Jamie on their wedding day with Mikey sat on Jamie’s back as they pulled funny faces at the camera whilst Dani was stood next to them laughing.

“Yeah, I picked up the keys after work, that’s why I was late” Jamie said proudly.

“So, we can move in now?” Mikey asked with excitement in his eyes.

“Yeah, basically” Jamie chuckled as she opened her arm out to invite Mikey into the hug which he accepted and both Dani and Jamie wrapped their arms around him to pull him in closer.

“You excited, sweetheart?” Dani asked as she kissed Mikey on the temple as she could no longer reach the top of his head.

“Yeah” Mikey said laughing, “But I’m not looking forward to walking up the stairs to bed”.

Dani and Jamie both laughed softly as she wrapped their arms around him tighter.

2 weeks later, Dani, Jamie and Mikey said goodbye to the tiny flat above the pub that held so many of their cherished memories together and locked the door for the final time before handing the keys back to the pub landlord who stood in the doorway and waved them off as they all made their way to their new home.

They had moved their belongings in small amounts from their flat to their new house in Jamie’s truck over the course of the two weeks. They hadn't really anticipated how much stuff they had tucked away in their little flat until it came to packing it all up. As they opened cupboards and draws that they hadn't looked inside of for months or even years, they came across things that they forgot they even had. 

“Hey” Dani whispered as she walked into their bedroom the day before they were due to move out to see Jamie holding a few baby clothes in her hands as she was surrounded by boxes of old clothing items from both her and Mikey.

“Hey” Jamie said softly as she looked up at Dani with a few tears in her eyes.

“You okay, baby?” Dani asked as she came and sat next to Jamie on their bed.

“Yeah” Jamie chuckled as she sniffed a few times then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Dani just placed her hand on Jamie’s thigh and squeezed it softly in hopes of proving her with a little comfort.

“These were the clothes that Mikey was wearing on the day that he came to live with me” Jamie whispered as she looked down at the tiny blue t-shirt and grey shorts in her hands as her thumb smoothed over the soft material.

Dani just smiled softly as her thumb drew calming circles on Jamie’s leg.

“And these were the first clothes that I bought for him” Jamie said quietly as she picked up two t-shirts, one with a dinosaur on and one with an elephant on and two pairs of black sweatpants.

“There’re so adorable” Dani said softly as she looked at the tiny clothes that Mikey used to be able to fit into.

“I had no fucking idea what to buy him” Jamie chuckled as she kept staring down at the clothes in her hands, “I just wondered around the baby isle of the nearest supermarket for hours trying to figure out what I needed. The social worker gave me a list, but I hardly knew what half of the stuff were, I had to ask a random woman who passed me with her daughter. I was so fucking embarrassed, but she was so kind and helped me to get everything that I needed. If it wasn’t for her, I'm pretty sure I’d have come home with the wrong sized nappies and baby formula”.

Dani let out a soft laugh at Jamie’s last comment and moved her hand onto Jamie’s knee, “You’ve done an amazing job, you know that don’t you. I know it wasn’t easy for you but that amazing young man in the other room is all down to you”.

Jamie just shook her head softly, “Think he’d turn out that way regardless of who brought him up”.

“Maybe, but he’s happy, carefree and safe and that’s all down to you and the home you’ve created for him” Dani said softly as she took hold of Jamie’s hand, “That’s something to be extremely proud of, Jamie”.

Jamie took a few seconds to process Dani’s comment then nodded slowly. “Yeah, it’s more than anyone ever gave me when I was a kid” Jamie said quietly as she looked up at Dani, “I just wanted him to have the childhood that I never had”.

“I know” Dani whispered, “And you have done that, baby, and you continue to do that every single day”.

“You do too, you know” Jamie said quietly as she squeezed Dani’s hand softly, “The whole parenting thing didn’t exactly come very naturally to me at first, but it does for you and you’ve really helped me become a better parent to Mikey, you really have. And I know you won't take any credit for that, but I just want to say thank you”.

“You’re right, I won't take credit for that but your welcome anyway” Dani said laughing softly as she placed a loving kiss to Jamie’s lips.

“I really never thought that my life would turn out this great” Jamie whispered as she lent her head against Dani’s shoulder.

“Me neither” Dani whispered as she placed a soft kiss to Jamie’s knuckles.

“I’ve always just wanted to give Mikey the best life possible and I’m so grateful I’ve got to do it with you by my side” Jamie said seriously.

“I’m grateful that you took a chance on me and let me be by your side” Dani said softly. 

“It blows my mind how fast the time has gone. You wouldn’t think that that kid in there that’s almost as tall as me once fitted in these tiny clothes, would you” Jamie said as she stared down at the baby clothes in her hand.

“You really wouldn’t” Dani chuckled as Jamie handed her the t-shirt that Mikey was wearing the first time Jamie had met him, “I would have loved to see him as a baby”.

“Yeah, I wished you’d have seen him the day that he came to live with me” Jamie said laughing softly, “He was just as stunned as I was. We just stared at each other for a good hour in pure shock but then he slowly got over the initial confusion and just sat in his pram and started talking at me like I had any idea what he was saying. It was just a random jumble of words that I had to nod and agree to”.

Dani laughed loudly as she imaged a wide-eyed Jamie staring at an equally as wide-eyed 2-year-old Mikey before Mikey started to engage with a one-sided conversation as Jamie just continued to stare at him in shock.

“That’s such a good age though, right? When they can start talking to you and they don’t just cry all the time” Dani said laughing softly.

“Even though I had no idea what I was doing, it was fun to just teach him new words that he would just repeat over and over and over again for like a week straight. I don’t know if that’s how kids are supposed to learn words but that’s how he did” Jamie chuckled as she remembered teaching Mikey the word dog after they had seen one at the park and that’s all he said for a good two weeks afterwards. 

“I can wait to have a baby with you” Dani whispered as she pulled Jamie down to lay on the bed with her.

“Me too” Jamie whispered back as she laid her head softly against Dani’s chest and closed her eyes as she listened to Dani’s steady heartbeat. 

“This is so cool!” Mikey exclaimed as he opened the door to their new house and stepped inside as Dani and Jamie followed behind him, “This is all ours!”.

“Sure is, kiddo” Jamie said as she watched Mikey stare in awe at the new house that he would now get to call home, even though he had seen it before, “Who would have thought, eh?”.

Dani and Jamie just watched as Mikey ran off up the stairs with the 2 tins of paint that they had bought to decorate his room.

“So…” Dani said softly as a small smirk started to appear on her lips, “Home sweet home”.

“Home sweet home, it is” Jamie replied as she watched Dani wrap her arms around her neck then push her against the back of their front door. “Someone’s eager” Jamie chuckled as Dani’s lips trailed from her jaw down to her neck.

“Can you blame me?” Dani whispered against her neck as she pulled Jamie flush against her by her overalls, “You’re my wife, we’ve just moved into a house together and you look so annoyingly hot”.

Jamie just let out a soft laugh as she looked down at what she was wearing, “I’m literally wearing my work clothes”.

“I know” Dani whispered as she grazed her teeth roughly over Jamie’s sweet pot which elicited a soft whimper from the brunette, “I like a woman in uniform”.

Jamie just chuckled in response and before she could say anything sarcastic, Dani quickly pulled away from her when she heard Mikey shout from upstairs, “Mum, do you know where the paint brushes are?”.

“Fuck” Dani whispered as she drew away from Jamie with wide eyes, “Please don’t tell me he’s already started painting”.

Jamie just laughed loudly as she saw the pure terror in Dani’s eyes as she quickly darted up the stairs to see what mess Mikey may have already created in her short absence.

For the rest of the day, Jamie and Dani helped Mikey paint his bedroom in hopes of minimising the damage that he would be able to create with two tins of paint. Whilst they waited for the paint to dry, they built him is brand-new bed and set up his room for him. They had still yet to decide on a colour scheme for their bedroom so for the time being, they had held off on building their furniture as they would just have to move it all once they started decorating but luckily for Mikey he was deadest on the colour scheme for his bedroom and had taken all of 2 minutes to pick out the colours at the hardware store, so his room as more or less finished the first day that they had moved in.

“Hey” Dani said softly as she came into Mikey’s room where Jamie was finishing off the painting that Mikey had gotten bored of doing an hour ago.

“Hey” Jamie replied as she turned to give Dani a soft smile before she carried on painting, “Mikey asleep?”.

“Yeah” Dani giggled as she carefully lent on the doorframe which hadn't been painted yet, “He had something to eat then passed out straight after on the couch”.

“Yeah, and he left me to do the rest of the work” Jamie said as she rolled her eyes but held no hard feelings towards Mikey who had been working very hard painting his new bedroom up until an hour ago, “He said he’d bring me something to eat too and he never did. I'm absolutely starving”.

“I can make you something. What would you like?” Dani offered kindly as she made her way towards Jamie, “Or I can order a pizza or something if you want?”.

A small smirk appeared on Jamie’s lips as she watched Dani walk closer to her in a pair of her old overalls that she still had on from painting. “I think there’s something else I’d like instead” Jamie whispered as she closed the small gap between her and Dani by pulling her wife into her by the sides of her overalls.

“Oh really?” Dani whispered as he softly bit her lip and let Jamie pull their bodies flush together.

“Yeah, thinking we could maybe christen our new bedroom, what do you think?” Jamie whispered as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip whilst she hovered just millimetres away from Dani’s mouth.

Dani just hummed in agreement as she connected her lips with Jamie’s then took her bottom lip between her teeth and tugged gently. “Or…” Dani whispered, “I have a better idea”.

“A better idea, huh?” Jamie whispered back huskily as her fingers dug into Dani’s sides hungrily.

“Yeah” Dani said smirking as she saw Jamie’s eyes darken.

“What is it?” Jamie asked as she let her mind come up with a few possibilities that sent waves of heat straight to her centre.

“A paint fight” Dani whispered as her hand quickly dipped into the paint tin next to her before her fingers came up to smear the dark shade of blue onto Jamie’s cheek.

Jamie just stood still in pure astonishment as she felt the paint trickle down the side of her face as Dani pulled away from her laughing loudly.

“Oh” Jamie chuckled after a few seconds of silence, “You’re really going to regret that, Dani Taylor”.

“Oh, am I?” Dani asked as she took her bottom lip between her teeth when she watched Jamie’s eyes turn even darker.

“Yeah” Jamie whispered playfully as she dipped her hand into the paint tin, maintaining constant eye contact with Dani before she leapt forward and speared the paint down Dani’s face before she could run away.

Dani squealed loudly as Jamie covered her in paint then skilfully picked her up and laid her on the floor as her hand continued to spear her face with blue paint.

Once Jamie removed her hand from Dani’s face, she laughed softly at Dani’s bright blue shocked expression.

“Well…” Jamie whispered as she leant forward so that her lips were hovering over Dani’s, “I told you that you were going to regret it”.

“I don’t regret anything” Dani whispered against Jamie’s lips as her hands reached up to pull Jamie closer to her, “Now how about we christen our new bedroom now?”.

Jamie let out a loud chuckle as she picked Dani up off the floor and started to pull her paint covered overalls off of her as they made their way into their new bedroom.


	23. A New School

Starting secondary school is a monumental step for any child and probably an even greater step for their parents. For the past 9 years, Mikey had been right by Jamie’s side, never straying very far but as the beginning of the new school year was fast approaching, it was time for her to let him go, at least just a little bit anyway. 

Bly was an extremely small town. It had one pub, one primary school and one supermarket but that was all the town needed really but it didn’t seem to lack much though, given its small size except for a secondary school. The usual walk to the local primary school was only 20 minutes tops, or a quick 5 minute drive if they were running late in the mornings, but the distance between their new home and Mikey’s new school was a lot farther. The closest secondary school was in the next town over which meant a 45 minute bus ride there and back and the thought of Mikey having to make is own way to school and back home every single day terrified both Dani and Jamie. They knew that he was a sensible boy and that he purposefully wouldn’t get into any mischief but having him travel to and from school on his own was still a scary thought as there were a lot of variables that they wouldn’t be able to control. Jamie had suggested that she try and change her hours at work so that she would be able to drive him to school each morning so that he would only have to travel back on his own, but Mikey had been insistent on taking both journeys on his own. He knew that he was more than capable, and he really didn’t want Jamie to have to go through the difficult process of changing her work hours either.

Throughout the summer holidays, Dani, Jamie and Mikey had taken the route which Mikey would have to go on to get to his new school multiple times so that he knew exactly where to go. Jamie had insisted on making Mikey go at least once a week, even though he had no issue with the journey, but it made Jamie feel a lot more comfortable and Mikey understood that, so he never complained. He knew that it would be hard on Jamie as he had never been more than 20 minutes away from her but going to school in the next town over, he knew that she would worry about him a lot. Jamie had pretended that Mikey starting high school didn’t faze her and that she was totally fine with it, but everyone knew that it did. Jamie was surprisingly very bad at hiding how she truly felt about things.

“Hey” Dani whispered as she wrapped her arms gently around Jamie’s waist as she watched her iron Mikey’s white school shirt and pants for the hundredth time that day. “I think you’ve got all the creases out, baby” Dani said softly as she placed a delicate kiss to Jamie’s cheek.

“Sorry” Jamie sighed as she put the iron down and lent back into Dani’s embrace.

“No need to apologise, baby” Dani said quietly as she squeezed her wife tighter.

It was the day before Mikey’s first day at secondary school and Jamie had been extremely quiet all day. Jamie had tried to keep herself busy the best that she could and that had involved doing every task at least twice if not more. She had cleaned the bathroom twice, folded the laundry three times and cleaned her truck twice too. As the evening had arrived and Mikey had gone to bed, which he now did on his own without the need for Dani or Jamie to read him a story or sit with him until he drifted off to sleep, Jamie couldn’t just sit on the sofa and relax like she usually did so she had opted to re-iron Mikey’s uniform to give her something to do, even though she had ironed it twice that day already.

“Wanna talk about it?” Dani asked as she rested her chin on Jamie’s shoulder.

“I’m okay” Jamie said softly as she put Mikey’s clothes back on their hangers and hung them on the back of the door.

“Okay” Dani said softly, knowing that Jamie would talk to her if she needed to, “I’m always here if you need me”.

“I know” Jamie whispered as she offered Dani a soft smile as she stepped out of her embrace before taking Mikey’s newly ironed clothes upstairs for him to put on in the morning.

When Jamie came back downstairs, Dani dragged her down onto the sofa with her and pulled her into a tight embrace so that they could watch a film together. Jamie had sighed and reluctantly let Dani wrap her up in her arms and pepper light kisses along her neck in an attempt to ease her worry which it did a little. 

Dani knew that Jamie bottled up her emotions, although she had gotten a lot better at opening up to her over the years, but she still held back from talking when her feelings became a little overwhelming. Dani could always tell when Jamie was feeling that way and she had slowly learnt that if she just showed Jamie that she was there for her and that she was safe, Jamie would eventually open up. It had taken Dani a while to perfect the technique but now she had it down to a tee. If she wrapped Jamie up in her arms, held her tightly and laid in silence with her whilst something else took up some of their attention, like a movie, Jamie would eventually start talking to her and ask for her help.

Half an hour into the film that neither of them were really watching properly as their minds were a little preoccupied with thoughts about the next day, Dani felt Jamie’s body start to gently shake in her arms.

“I’m so scared” Jamie whispered as she buried her face into Dani’s arm that she had her head resting on.

“I know, baby” Dani whispered as she encouraged Jamie to turn around by tugging on her arm softly, “Me too”.

Jamie turned around to face Dani and as soon as she did, she buried her face into Dani’s chest and wrapped her arm tightly around her back. Dani just pulled her crying wife closer into her as she rubbed soothing circles on her back in hopes of helping to stop her soft cries.

“We’ve prepared him well” Dani whispered softly into Jamie’s soft curly hair, “He knows his way, he has his phone on him if he needs to call one of us and we know who he’s going to school with. We’ve done everything we can, haven’t we?”.

Jamie just nodded into Dani’s chest as her tears continued to fall. She knew that Mikey would likely be fine but there was always a chance that something could go wrong, and she wouldn’t be there for him if anything did.

“And he’s a very sensible young man, isn’t he? If he needs us, he’ll call us, and we’ll be right there, won't we?” Dani whispered, hoping that her words were bringing a little comfort to her wife.

Jamie nodded again. “I’ve just never not been by his side, y’know? I’ve always been 10 minutes away from him, so I’ve been there for every injury, every illness, every time that he’s been upset and now, I won't be” Jamie said softly as she used Dani’s sweater to wipe away her tears.

“He’ll always need you, you know that don’t you?” Dani whispered, “He’ll still fall over, he’ll still get ill and he’ll still get upset and every time he does, he’ll still need you. He might not be a 10 minute drive away anymore for when he falls over in the playground and needs taking to the hospital, but he’ll always need you Jamie, always. Even if he is a 45 minute drive away”.

“But there’ll be a time when he doesn’t” Jamie whispered through her soft cries, “Isn’t this just the beginning of the end? He’ll start to become more independent and then eventually a time will come where he falls over and doesn’t need me to pick him back up”.

“But that’s what we’ve raised him for, haven’t we, to be independent? Surely when the day comes that he can just pick himself up and carry on, we’ve succeeded in our job as parents” Dani said as her hand continued to gently rub Jamie’s back, “But that doesn’t mean that we won't be there for him anymore and that doesn’t mean that he won't need us either. I’m pretty sure he’ll be 21 and still coming home from university every weekend for us to do his laundry for him”.

Jamie let out a soft laugh against Dani’s sweater then slowly lifted her head up to look at her, “I can't wait for that day”.

Dani gently placed her hand on Jamie’s cheek and ran her thumb under her eye to wipe away the tear marks that had formed there, “He’ll be fine, Jamie, I know he will”.

“I know” Jamie whispered with a small smile, “I just don’t want to let him go”.

“Me too” Dani said softly as she pulled Jamie back into her chest, “But we have to”.

The next morning, Jamie woke Mikey up an hour earlier than she usually did since he had to travel so far to get to school. He groaned and complained a little but once he had fully woken up, he was bright and cheerful although still a little nervous. Dani made him his favourite breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and orange juice which he demolished in just a few minutes before Jamie dragged him to stand up so that she could take some photos of him in his new uniform.

“Why Mum?” Mikey groaned as Dani ran her fingers through his hair in order to style it a little for the photos. They usually left his wild signature Taylor curls alone to fall how they wanted to but they were obstructing the view of his face so Dani had to try and move them so that they could get a good photo of him.

“Because it’s your first day of secondary school” Dani said with a soft giggle, “We take photos at the beginning of each school year and this one won't be the exception. It’s a big day for you”.

Mikey just groaned as Dani stepped away from him so that Jamie could take a photo of him.

“Smile” Jamie said with a smirk as Mikey just stood with his long arms dangling beside him with an unimpressed look on his face that reminded her of herself at that age.

Jamie couldn’t believe just how much he had grown. He was now her and Dani’s height with limbs that were far too long for his body and the large blazer that they had bought him to accommodate his imminent growth spurt hung off of him and made him look even skinnier than he was, but it wouldn’t be long before he would fill it out a little better.

“You look like you’d rather be anywhere else” Jamie said laughing softly as she shot him an unimpressed look over the top of her phone.

“I would” Mikey said as he finally smiled for her to take the photo.

“You look so handsome” Dani said as her proud eyes filled with tears.

“Mum!” Mikey groaned, slightly embarrassed at the fact that she had started crying over him in his new school uniform.

“You do though” Dani said as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

“Now one with your Mum” Jamie said as she shifted the angle of her phone to get a better picture.

Dani stood next to Mikey and put her arm around his shoulders and smiled widely for the photo and so did Mikey. Jamie then took a few photos before her and Dani swapped places so that Jamie could have a photo with him too.

“Can I go now?” Mikey groaned as Jamie and Dani looked back over the photos excitedly.

“No, we need to do a family one now” Jamie said as she set her phone up on the shelves in front of them so that it would take a photo of all three of them together.

“Jamie!” Mikey groaned as he rolled his eyes in slight annoyance with how long it was taking.

“You can handle another minute” Jamie said with a chuckle as her and Dani stood at either side of him and wrapped their arms around him.

Once all the photos had been taken, Dani and Jamie walked Mikey to the bus stop at the end of their street to meet his friend Harry who he would be travelling to and from school with. When the bus came a few minutes later, Dani, Jamie and Harry’s parents waved them off and it took everything that they had not to cry on the spot.

“He’ll be fine” Dani said reassuringly as she held Jamie in her arms once they had made their way back into their house to collect their belongings before they each set off for work.

“I know” Jamie said softly as she tried to stop the tears that were falling from her eyes, “I know”.

Jamie and Dani spent the rest of their day wondering about Mikey and how his day was going. They both refrained from texting him to ask how he was getting on as they knew that he would contact them if he needed them and they wanted to let him have his independence. They did insist though that he text them when he had arrived at school and when he had arrived back home, just so that they knew he was safe.

At 3:30pm, they both received a text to say that he had safely made it home and both breathed a small sigh of relief that they had been holding all day. 

“How was your day, kiddo?” Jamie asked as soon as she made it home that evening.

Mikey had already answered the exact same question 15 minutes ago when Dani had come home but he didn’t mind answering it again.

“Good, really good actually” Mikey said with a small smile on his face as he sat eating an apple at the kitchen table.

Jamie breathed a sigh of relief at Mikey’s words as she had been so concerned about him all day, “Did you make any new friends?”.

“Yeah, a few. Mostly hung out with Harry but everyone in my classes seem nice” Mikey replied.

“Well, that’s good then, isn’t it?” Jamie said as she ruffled his hair a little, “It will probably take a little time to settle in but as long as you’re enjoying it, that’s all that matters”.

“Oh, I almost forgot” Mikey said as he looked up at Jamie, “Can you help me put a new plaster on my arm?”.

“A plaster?” Jamie asked as she furrowed her brow in confusion, “Did you hurt yourself?”.

“Yeah, I fell playing football at lunchtime” Mikey said as he started to roll up his shirt sleeve, “I went to the nurse and she cleaned it for me but said I would need to change the dressing on it once I got home, but I wanted to wait for you to help me, you’re good at stuff like that. Plus, I don’t know where you keep the plasters”.

Dani smiled softly when she saw Jamie’s face light up and a wide smile fill her face as she made her way over to the cupboard where they kept the first aid kit.

“I’m going to start wrapping you up in bubble wrap” Jamie said as she playfully rolled her eyes before kissing the top of Mikey’s head when she returned to his side, “But I’m so glad you still need my help”.

“I’ll always need your help” Mikey said as he gave Jamie his arm so that she could inspect his new injury.


	24. A New Addition

Dani and Jamie had always wanted more children together and it had been a topic of conversation throughout their relationship, but they hadn't felt the need to rush into anything. Mikey took up all their attention and they wouldn’t have had it any other way but with him off at high school now, Dani and Jamie had thought that now would be a good time to start the process of having a baby. 

Mikey was getting more independent as they days went on, he now put himself to bed, went to school on his own and spent a lot of time with his friends so Dani and Jamie had felt like it had come to a natural point in their lives to have a baby. They had talked to Mikey over the years about it and he had always seemed more than happy with the idea of having a sibling and before they seriously started the process, they had had a big conversation with him about it again to make sure that he was comfortable with it. It was one thing being happy with the idea of having a sibling at some point in the distant future but to be asked would you be okay with having one in the very near future was likely to be a bigger deal. However, Mikey had seemed just as thrilled with the prospect of a baby as he had done in the past and even more so as he knew that it was actually happening sometime soon.

Dani and Jamie had already had appointments with the fertility clinic so that they understood the process and what it would entail for them before they had spoken with Mikey, who for them was the last green light that they needed in order to start the journey officially. They had already gone through the necessary scans and checks and were ready to proceed to the insemination part of the process so once Mikey had hugged them both tightly and told them how excited he was to have a sibling, they booked their next appointment.

Neither of them had expected for it to work the first time around but they had been hopeful. However, they hadn't been ready for the disappointment that they would feel when the pregnancy test came back negative. Although they were disheartened, they tried again the next month and the next month after that but 7 months later, all they had gained were 7 negative pregnancy tests.

“It’s not going to work” Dani whispered as she buried her face into Jamie’s neck.

They had tried for one final time before they would go back to the clinic and see if there was another option that they could try. The past 8 months had taken its toll on both women and the disappointment each month was getting harder and harder to face. They had been relatively optimistic in the beginning but as the months had passed on, their hope had faded a little.

“And that’s okay if it doesn’t” Jamie whispered as she held her wife tightly in her arms as they swayed from side to side in the bathroom, “There’s always other options that we can try”.

“I know” Dani whispered back as she clung on tightly to Jamie’s shoulders, “I’m just so tired of the disappointment”.

“I know you are, baby” Jamie whispered back.

The same situation had been played out for at least 5 months now. Dani and Jamie would stand in the bathroom together preparing for the disappointment of yet another negative pregnancy test with hushed voices in an attempt not to worry Mikey. Mikey was none the wiser about the difficulties that they had been going through trying to conceive as they really didn’t want him to be worried, especially not as he had enough on his plate to fret over with starting secondary school as well.

“Maybe I’m just too old now” Dani whispered as she kept looking at the clock to see when the test would be ready, “Or maybe it’s just not meant to be”.

“Dani” Jamie whispered firmly, “Baby, sometimes these things just take time. And you’re not too old, you’re 32 and the doctor said that everything was normal and healthy, so we just have to trust that, don’t we?”.

Dani just nodded as she kept her face hidden in Jamie’s neck so that she wasn’t tempted to look over at the pregnancy test that was sat on the counter.

“How about we take a break after this month, huh?” Jamie whispered as she placed gentle kisses to Dani’s cheek, “I can't see you this upset every month, Dani, it’s breaking my heart”.

Dani had found it particularly hard not being able to conceive as she had put all the blame on herself. She wanted to give them a baby more than anything in world and the fact that she hadn't been able to yet was grinding her down. Every month she would dread the day when they had to take the pregnancy test and once it came back negative, she would revert into herself for at least a week. As the months passed, it had taken longer and longer for Dani to recover and the month before, Dani had spent the entirety of the half-term holidays in bed or wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa and she had cried herself to sleep every night whilst Jamie held her and tried to ease her pain the best she could. Jamie had tried to be the strong one but as each month passed, she found it harder and harder to see her wife in so much pain. 

“One more go” Dani whispered, almost pleading.

“Dani” Jamie whispered as she pulled out of the hug and placed her hands on either side of Dani’s face so that she could look at her, “I think we need a break”.

Dani just nodded as more tears fell from her eyes and she sank back into Jamie’s body. She was tired and although she would have loved to give it one more go, she knew that she didn’t have it in her to go through the heartache again.

“I’m so tired, Jamie” Dani whispered as she lent the majority of her weight against her wife as she didn’t have the strength to stand up on her own.

“I know you are, baby” Jamie whispered, “I know you are”.

A few seconds later, the noise of Dani’s phone alarm filled the bathroom which signalled that the pregnancy test was ready.

“I can't do it” Dani said softly, “Can you?”.

Jamie just nodded as she shifted her and Dani a little so that she could reach the counter. 

“Whatever it says, Dani” Jamie whispered just before she picked up the test, “I love you and that will never ever change, okay?”.

Dani just nodded softly against her wife’s shoulder as she took a slow, steady breath to try and stop her tears from falling.

Jamie then picked up the test and brought it closer to her face to read. She squinted and furrowed her brow as she saw only one word on the tiny screen instead of the usual two. ‘Pregnant’ Jamie read silently and furrowed her brow even more. She had been so used to reading ‘Not Pregnant’ that the one word threw her off and she had to read it four times just to make sure that it was right.

Jamie’s silence only reiterated what Dani had feared. She knew that the test would read ‘Not Pregnant’ just like it had done 7 times before and Jamie’s lack of anything to disprove this only caused Dani’s cries to continue to grow.

“Dani” Jamie whispered after a few moments had passed, “Dani, baby, stand up for me”.

Dani just furrowed her brow in confusion as she did what Jamie had asked her to do and when Jamie handed her the test, she just shook her head.

“I can't look at another one again, please, Jamie I can't” Dani whispered as she closed her eyes tightly.

“This one’s different” Jamie said softly as she placed the test in her wife’s hand.

Dani’s eyes slowly opened and the look of pure joy in Jamie’s eyes caused her to quickly look down at the test.

“I- Jamie, I can't be” Dani said quietly in disbelief as more tears formed in her eyes.

“Why not?” Jamie whispered as a small smile appeared on her face.

“It’s not worked before” Dani whispered as she began quickly opening the other pregnancy test in the box.

Four positive pregnancy tests later, Dani finally let out a small laugh as she turned to Jamie and placed her hands gently on either side of her face. “I’m pregnant” Dani whispered as she shook her head in disbelief, “We’re having a baby”.

“We’re having a baby” Jamie whispered back as a large toothy grin spread across her face before she lent in to place a loving kiss to Dani’s lips.

“I can't believe it” Dani whispered as she pulled away from Jamie’s lips to take her hand and rest it on her stomach over her sweater.

“Me neither” Jamie whispered back as she gently bent down to lift Dani’s sweater up a little to reveal Dani’s stomach before she placed a soft, loving kiss just below her navel, “There’s really a baby in there”

“There really is” Dani said softly as she laced her fingers with Jamie’s hand that was resting on her stomach, “There really is”.

For the rest of the afternoon, Dani and Jamie walked around in a bit of a daze. It had felt like they would never get to this point but here they were. Mikey could sense that something had happened, but he never asked about it, he just knew that it was different to what had happened every other month. Dani wasn’t curled up in bed or huddled on the sofa with a blank expression on her face as she stared into space and Jamie wasn’t constantly reassuring her and trying to comfort her. Both were walking around a little shocked, but they were cheerful, and Mikey could sense the atmosphere was no longer tense or nervous and that had to be a good thing.

They had initially wanted to wait for their 3 month scan to tell him but they really didn’t want to keep anything from him and they had thought that 3 months was a long time to keep it a secret. Mikey was old enough and mature enough to be told and he would probably find out before then anyway as he was an intelligent kid who never seemed to miss a trick. 

“What’s this?” Mikey asked as he furrowed his brow in confusion as Jamie handed him a box with a ribbon on it.

“Open it and you’ll find out” Jamie chuckled as she reached for Dani’s hand.

They had decided to wait until the evening to tell him, just as they went to kiss him goodnight. Dani and Jamie usually left him to go to bed alone as that was what he had wanted to do as that’s what his friend did so when Dani and Jamie followed him upstairs, he knew that something was about to happen.

Mikey did as Jamie had said and slowly lifted the lid off the box and Dani and Jamie could see the confusion on his face before realisation set in as what the item in the box meant.

“Wait” Mikey said as he quickly looked up at Dani then at Jamie, “You’re pregnant?”.

Dani just nodded softly as a wide smile appeared on her face as Mikey put the box beside him and went to hug her.

“It’s early days yet, sweetheart but yes. We found out today, we didn’t want to keep it from you” Dani said softly as she squeezed Mikey tightly in her arms and kissed his cheek.

“I thought you were acting weird” Mikey said chuckling a little as he pulled away from Dani and went to hug Jamie.

“We aren’t going to tell anyone just yet, probably wait until the 3 month scan just to be sure but we thought you should be in on the secret too” Jamie whispered as she pulled Mikey in for a tight hug.

“I won't go blabbing to anyone, I promise” Mikey said chuckling as he pulled away from Jamie and sat back in his bed.

“Are you excited?” Dani asked, although she could tell from the look on his face that he was.

“Yeah, course I am!” Mikey said laughing, “Remember when I used to pester you to get me a brother when I was little?”.

Jamie just rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Yeah, you were pretty adamant at one point”.

“Better late than never, huh?” Dani said giggled as she ruffled Mikey’s hair.

“Yeah” Mikey chuckled, “I can't wait to be a big brother. I think I’ll be a good one”.

“I know you will be a good one, kiddo” Jamie said as she kissed Mikey’s cheek which he just rolled his eyes at.

“Now get some sleep, sweetheart” Dani whispered as she stood up from his bed and placed a quick kiss to his forehead, “We’ll see you in the morning”.

“Yeah, sweet dreams, kid” Jamie whispered as she did the same and followed Dani out of his room.

“I Think he took that well” Jamie whispered as she stopped Dani in the hallway and rested her hands on her stomach as she wrapped her arms around her waist from behind.

“He’s going to be an amazing brother, isn’t he?” Dani whispered as she turned around in Jamie’s arms.

“Yeah, he is” Jamie whispered back, “I can't wait”.

“Me neither” Dani said softly as a wide smile appeared on her face.

“I love you so much, Mrs Taylor” Jamie said as she picked Dani up and let her wrap her legs around her waist.

“I love you so much too, Mrs Taylor” Dani giggled as she let Jamie walk them into their bedroom as she placed loving kisses to the patches of skin that she could reach.


End file.
